What Could Be
by angel1002
Summary: My take on what would of happened the night at the bluffs if Cordy and Angel actually met there that night- Please read and review. I do love reviews. *I own none of the characters of Angel. They are owned by Joss Whedon
1. Chapter 1

**I own none of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon**

Cordy looked at her watch. She was running so late, and it didn't help matters that traffic was moving along like a snail. Actually, a snail would have been faster at this point in time. Angel would be waiting for her at the bluffs because he was always so damn prompt.

"Dammit" she thought to herself "Why did I have to change my shoes 4 times? Angel doesn't care about what shoes I wear"

Cordy's stomach was turning. She was a bundle of nerves. Cordelia Chase has always been a very confident woman. She was never one to second-guess any decision that she has ever made. If she did second-guess her choices, she may have never left Sunnydale. If she never left Sunnydale she never would of gotten reacquainted with Angel, she never would of gotten the visions that have helped save countless lives, she never would a become half demon, she never would of done the good that she has done, and most importantly, she never would of fallen in love with Angel.

When she was in high school, she had images of falling in love with a CEO of a very large and profitable and company and her adult life would include shopping, manicures and pedicures. Her other dream was to become an actress. Thanks to Skip, her demon guide, she had chance to live that dream and she hated it. She felt so empty and very superficial. All right, Cordy is a superficial person, but when she was an actress she felt even more superficial, if that is possible. So many things have changed since high school. All she cared about now was helping people and being with Angel.

Angel. The man of her dreams expect for fact that he is not a man. He is dead. He is a vampire. Oh My God! She is in love with a vampire, but he is not just any vampire. He is a, or better yet, THE vampire with a soul, that wonderful soul who makes him the most wonderful dead man that she knows. Things between them started out innocent enough. They were just friends. They soon became best friends, but when you have seen as much pain, death and destruction as they have, it does have a tendency to bring people closer. Then somewhere along the line their friendship turned into something more. Well, at least it did on her part.

So when did the feelings of friendship develop into something more. Cordy could probably pinpoint it to the night of the ballet. WOW!! After the experience in the dressing room Cordy started looking at Angel differently. Boy could he kiss. The true turning point was when Gru came from Pyleia to see her. During their trip to Mexico, they only slept together 1 time and during that encounter, she thought only of Angel. After that she realized that she couldn't lead Gru on so she faked her period and sweet Gru didn't realize that a woman's period doesn't last 2 weeks. Cordy knew that she couldn't go any farther until she knew how she really felt for Angel, but Gru made the choice for her. He saw how she looked at Angel. He saw and made Cordy see that she is love with Angel.

The only downfall to loving Angel would be the whole no sex thing. If they were to make love the one moment of perfect happiness will turn the man of her dreams into the man of her nightmares. Gone would be the man of her dreams and hello to the evil, people drinking, terrorizing, Angelus. Now, like any other hot blooded woman, Cordy enjoys having sex, but for some reason just the thought of Angel knowing that she loved him and hopefully, him loving her back, and just holding her at night while she slept would be enough for her. In fact, it would be just perfect.

Cordy could see the bluffs straight ahead. She knew that tonight her life would most definitely change. Whether her life would be ruined or all of her dreams would come true still remained to be seen. She was so nervous. She was going to tell Angel that she loved him. As Cordy pulled into the bluffs she kept repeating the same thing in her head.

"I love Angel." That repeating phrase did somewhat help calm her.

As she pulled up to the lighthouse she began to panic again. She did not see his car. Cordy got out of her car and slammed the door.

"Dammit, Dammit, Dammit" she yelled "I don't even like these shoes.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She clenched her fist, and spun around, prepared to deck whoever thought that it was okay to interrupt her private sulk fest. As she spun around she looked right into the most beautiful brown eyes. She immediately unclenched her fist and breathed out his name "Angel"


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own any over the characters. They are owned by Joss Whedon**

Angel nervously paces to the edge of the cliff and back. He looks at his watch. She is late. He just smiles. Cordy is always late.

"She probably couldn't decide what shoes to wear" He says out loud to himself. "I will have to remember to compliment her shoes."

Ever since he got the phone call he has been pondering over what she wants to talk with about.

"Maybe she wants to tell him that she is in love with Gru." Angel shuddered at that thought. "He is not good enough for her. He is not me." Angel said to himself

His hopes rise slightly, could what Lorne told him be true? Could Cordy actually have feelings for him? Angel shakes his head trying to rid his brain of that thought. She is in love with Gru. If she was in love with him then she would of not made him go and buy the potion so she could sleep with Gru. That isn't love. That is something that you ask your best friend to buy for you, not a man that you are in love with.

Best Friends. That is what their relationship is. He never thought that he would see her again after he left Sunnydale. But since that fateful night at the party, when they ran into each other again, they have been through so much. He now relies on her friendship. She has taken on so much with accepting the visions. He was so proud of her when she fought to keep her visions. He was so angry at her when he found out how much suffering she was dealing with every time that she got a vision. She should have told him. Cordy knows him better than anyone, even better than Buffy did. After they broke up he never thought that he would feel for another woman the way he felt about Buffy but if he were to be honest with himself he would admit that he had feelings for Cordy. Feelings. Where did that come from? Oh well, Lorne was right. He is in love with Cordelia Chase.

He knew it as soon as Lilah had that genie hack into Cordy's visions. When he saw her laying there on his bed, so helpless and scared he wanted to, first, hold and kiss her until she felt better, and second kill whoever had done this to his precious Cordy. He did succeed in the second. When Gru came to town Angel obtained a constant companion known as the "Green Eyed Monster". Never in his 250 years had he felt like that. Every time that she looked at Gru he hated him. He wanted her to look at him like that, but she didn't. She had eyes only for Gru. Or so he thought. He went to sleep every with thoughts of Cordy and woke up every morning with those same thoughts.

"All right idiot, stop thinking like that." Angel yelled at himself.

What was he thinking? He had nothing to offer Cordy. His life was full of monsters and demons. She deserves so much better than that. He is not rich and Cordy likes nice things. They could never have children. That was impossible, well except for Conner, but that was a fluke. He could never make love to her. That one moment of pure happiness, which he know that he would find with Cordy, would bring Angelus back and he would kill her and Angel just couldn't risk it.

Suddenly he sees headlights. He looked at his watch. 23 minutes late. She gets out of her car, looks around, slams the door and starts swearing. Angel smiles. She probably thinks that he left. He walks over to her and puts his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. He sees her fist clench and she spins around. Her eyes are angry but as soon she recognizes him they soften.

"Angel" she said. His name sounds perfect on her lips. As he looks at her in the moonlight he realizes, with absolute certainty that he is in love with Cordy.


	3. Chapter 3

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

"So what did the car do to you?" Angel asked with a cocky grin.

"I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic sucked."

"I would have waited all night for you."

"Thanks." She whispered softly.

"Nice shoes by the way." He complemented and she flashed him her beautiful grin.

"Thanks for noticing." _I knew that I picked the right pair._ She thought to herself.

"So what did you want to talk about?" He really couldn't stand the suspense much longer.

"Can we walk?" He nodded and she took his hand. He felt a surge of electricity flow through him when their hands touched. They walked to the edge of the bluffs where they could see out into the ocean. "It's beautiful isn't it?" She asked

"I've never seen anything more beautiful." He said looking at her, not the ocean.

"I love the ocean."

"I know you do."

She turned to face him. Her stomach was in giant knots. She took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. _It's now or never Chase._ "I have something to tell you, about Gru and I."

"Let me guess? You're in love with him." He said bitterly.

"Angel I…"

"As long as you're happy then I'm happy for you."

"Will you please let me talk?" She snapped.

"Sorry."

"Gru left me."

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch. I'm going to rip his throat out. I'm going…"

"ANGEL."

"Sorry." He mumbled again.

"It won't be necessary to kill Gru. We parted on good terms."

"Why?" He whispered.

"He knew I wasn't in love with him."

"You're not?" He felt a slight feeling of hope surge through him.

"No Angel I'm not. I'm in love with another man." As quickly as the hope entered his body it vanished just as quickly. She said man so it can't be him because he isn't a man. He's a vampire.

"Who? Wesley?"

"Oh dear god no. Are you insane? If Wesley was the last man on earth I wouldn't love him."

"Then who?" He needed to know.

"Angel, I'm in love with you." She answered looking into his brown eyes.

"Cordy, I…"

"Gru saw that and he made me realize that. I know that I'm not Buffy and I know that you probably don't feel the same but I needed you to know." She was now looking at the ground so he couldn't see the tears rolling down her cheeks and the fear of rejection shining in her eyes.

"Cordelia would you please look at me." She slowly raised her head. "You're right. You aren't Buffy. You are a totally different person. I never thought that I would feel anything for another woman again after Buffy but I was wrong. I feel for you. I feel strongly for you. I love you too Cordy. I've loved you from afar for so long."

"Then why haven't you told me?"

"Because I can't offer you what you deserve. You deserve a man that can walk hand and hand with you into the ocean in the bright light of day. You deserve a man who can walk outside period. You deserve a man who can make love to you and give you the family that you deserve. You deserve to be happy Cordelia and I'm not the one who can give that happiness to you." He had no idea why he was fighting her on this. He loved her, she loved him. It really should be that simple but it wasn't. As much as he wanted to be with her he knew he couldn't. It wasn't fair to ask her to sacrifice everything just to be with him.

"I don't care about walking outside in the day light. The day is too overrated anyway. The sun is bad for your skin. If I'm with you then I don't need a family. You are my family now anyway and the sex. I can live without sex Angel. Sex isn't all it's cracked up to be anyways."

"Bullshit Cordy. You are a young beautiful woman with sexual needs and desires."

"There are other ways to fulfill those needs Angel."

"Cordy if we do this and you give up all of these things you will eventually hate me and I would rather be without you then to risk you hating me."

"I'll hate you if you push me away Angel. I enjoy having sex but I would much rather fall asleep every night in the arms of the man that I love then have empty sex for the rest of my life. Sex is just sex if you're not in love. What we have if so much more than sex. You are my best friend Angel but I want more than that. I want to hold you in my arms. I want your face to be the first one that I see and kiss every morning and I want your face to be the last thing I see and kiss every night before I fall asleep. I want to love you like you deserve to be loved Angel. Will you let me do that? Will you let me love you?" She begged softly with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Are you sure about this Cordy?" He asked as he wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

"I want to make sure that you realize everything that you are giving up."

"I'm gaining so much more by being with you." He had no other argument left. She had convinced him that she wanted to be with him and he wasn't going to fight her on it anymore. He gently cupped her face.

"I love you so much Cordelia Chase." He whispered huskily.

"I love you too Angel. More than you'll ever know." He pulled her towards his chest. He looked for any doubt in her brown eyes and when he saw none he slowly leaned forward, closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers in a soft gentle kiss.

The gentleness of the kiss didn't last long. It quickly turned passionate. His tongue probed for entrance into her mouth, which she quickly granted. His tongue explored every possible crevice and she did the same to him as her hands wound around his neck. She reluctantly pulled away when she had to breathe but his lips didn't want to stray away from her so moved his lips down her neck while she caught her breath. Within seconds she was pulling his face back up to hers and their lips crashed together.

Suddenly Cordy felt and electric shock on her lower back and she knew that it wasn't the sparks from their kiss. She pulled away, gasping in pain and fell to the ground, darkness surrounding her. The last thing she saw was Angel's confused eyes staring at her.


	4. Chapter 4

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Cordy suddenly broke their wonderful kiss. Angel saw her eyes roll back into her head. Before he could stop her she collapsed on the ground. As he rushed toward her he felt the same electric shock that Cordy felt run through his spine and he fell to the ground.

"Awwww" he yelled in pain before he passed out.

"Tie him up and put him in the van." Said the ringleader.

"What about her." Asked the gunman referring to Cordelia.

"Leave her here. Let's go before he wakes."

--

Cordy woke up 30 minutes later with a hell of a headache. She was confused. Suddenly it all came rushing back to her. Angel. The I love yous. The kiss. The shock.

"What the hell?' She mumbled as she rubbed her head. Suddenly a vision came to her.

"Great. Just great. Why now? Of all of the most inconvenient of times." Cordy stood up and immediately became dizzy. There was no way she was going to be able to drive home. She dug out her cell phone to call Wesley to come and pick her up. She was now royally pissed off.

--

"What the hell?" Angel awoke to find himself shackled to a wall. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. It was no use. It was dark. He couldn't see anything. When he got out of here, he was going to kill someone. Suddenly he heard footsteps. Not just any footsteps but high-heeled footsteps. A light came on and temporary blinded him but he recognized her voice.

"Welcome Angel" Lilah said

--

Cordy was silent for the entire ride back to the hotel. Wesley tried to find out what had happened but she shushed him. Her head still hurt like hell and she needed to decipher her visions. Her vision came in 2 parts but both parts were about the same person but at different times.

"Have everyone meet in the lobby. I need to change out of these dirty clothes." Cordy said as she headed up to her room. When the door shut firmly behind her she let the tears fall. They were tears of anger and of sadness. They finally had admitted their feelings for each other and now he was gone. Cordy was more determined then ever to get her man back. But, first she had to figure out where he was before it got worse. She quickly changed her clothes, washed her face and ran downstairs where the entire crew of Angel Inc. minus Angel was waiting for her.

"Angel has been captured." Cordy began

"What happened?" Fred asked

"Well we were at the bluffs and then zap & I went plop and when I woke up he was gone." Cordy said in a rush hoping they wouldn't question her any more detail as to what exactly they were doing when she was zapped. No such luck.

"Cordelia, I don't understand Angel has super hearing. How could he not have heard anything?" Wes asked, confused

"Ummm, he was distracted." Cordy mumbled

"Come on girl, Angel does not get distracted." Gunn stated

Suddenly Lorne let a squeal of delight. "Cordy, I am sensing some love vibes."

"Fine. We were kissing." Cordy blurted out and it was silent for a second then everyone began to speak at once.

"Oh Cordy. That is wonderful." That was Fred.

"I can now see why Angel was distracted." Wes

"All right Cordy. You go girl." Gunn

"I knew it. I knew it." Lorne said happily

"All right. Enough about kissing. We need to get Angel back." Cordy shouted.

"Right of course. Now what did you see in your vision?" Wes asked

"Which part?" Cordy asked.

"Huh?" Gunn said

"My vision came in 2 parts. The first part is what is happening right now and the second part is what will happen if we don't save him."

"Cordy, tell us about the now." Fred said.

Cordy closed her eyes and brought her vision back. "He is in a dark room chained up. I can't see anything in the room. I can barley see him. Wait, there is a light. I see shoes. Very tacky and ugly high heeled shoes." Cordy shuddered at the thought of those shoes. They were really ugly.

"Is that it?" Fred asked her

"Yep that is it. Why am I seeing those shoes? Why not the owners face? It would be so much better if I saw her face. I mean who would wear such ugly shoes?" Cordy stopped suddenly. She has seen those shoes before. They were just as ugly the first time she saw them. She looked up at Angel Inc.

"Lilah Morgan. Wolfram & Hart have Angel and if we don't get him out now they will bring back Angelus."


	5. Chapter 5

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

"God Dammit Lilah. When I get out of here I will kill you." Angel growled at Lilah.

"You quite possibly will." She said

"What the hell do you want?"

"What do you think that we want?" she asked him

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking, now would I?" Angel was getting madder by the second.

"We want Angelus." Lilah replied smugly.

"We?"

"Yes Angel. We. The senior partners and I."

"You will never get Angelus." Angel snapped

"Never say never Angel." Lilah said with a smile.

"Never!" Angel screamed at Lilah as he tugged at the chains and cuffs.

"Relax Angel. We want Angelus nice and rested when we meet."

"Lilah, Angelus will kill you and everyone at Wolfram & Hart when you let him out. He works alone. He likes it alone." Angel said

"Angelus will be obligated to Wolfram & Hart when he is free to feed again."

"Angelus will not see it that way."

"We'll see." Lilah said as she walked away.

As she walked away and the light faded Angel was left alone with his thoughts. They immediately went to the woman he loves. Cordy. Damn. Is the whole universe against them? They have done so much good and helped so many people. Don't they deserve a little bit of happiness? He wanted to make Cordy so happy. The kiss they shared was so wonderful. The way she ran her hands through his hair while they were kissing was a great feeling. If he tried real hard he could still feel them. Her hands are so soft. He had so many plans for the two of them. Flowers, candy, and clothes he would buy for her. He wanted to take her to the movies, not to watch a movie, but to make out with her in the back row. He smiled at that thought.

He could not let Angelus loose. He would kill Cordy the first chance that he got just to spite Angel. He couldn't, he wouldn't let that happen. He sadly pushed all of his happy thoughts of Cordy out of his mind and began to focus on getting free and killing Lilah. Now that brought a smile to his face.

--

"Cordy, you said that your vision had 2 parts. What was the second part?" Gunn asked her as the were gathering their weapons

"Look if we save Angel now the second part won't matter." Cordy said

"Cordy" Wes said

"Wes" Cordy mocked

"Cordy we need to know." Fred pleaded

"Fine." Cordy snapped, "The second part of the vision was Angelus feeding."

"On who?" Lorne asked

"I don't know. It doesn't matter. What matters now is that we stop Lilah. We stop her and her cronies then we don't need to worry about Angelus. Ok so can we go now?" Cordy was beginning to get impatient. Her man, the man that she loves is in trouble. She has to save him. He would do the same for her.

"Cordy, we can't just rush into Wolfram and Hart without a plan. They will destroy us." Wes, the man who always wants a plan said.

"Wes, we don't have time a plan. Every minute that we waste standing around here planning the more time that we are giving Wolfram and Hart to bring Angelus forth." Cordy stated

"Wes is right Cordy." Gunn said and Cordy just stared at him. Gunn hated plans. He was always the one who was gun-ho about kicking ass and taking names later.

"Fine. If you guys don't want to help Angel I will do it myself." Cordy yelled.

"Cordakins, honey, relax. We are all going to help save Angel. We just need to be prepared." Lorne said.

"Ok but we need to hurry." A defeated Cordy said. Suddenly, the front door of the hotel burst opened and Conner strode in.

"Conner where have you been?" Fred asked

"Out" As always with Conner, straight to the point.

Angel Inc. filled Conner in on what was going with Angel. As much as Conner disliked Angel, but from everything that Holtz told him about Angelus, Conner disliked him more so he agreed to help them. His strength would be an asset to the team and right now they needed all the help that they could get.

After some arguing and yelling they finally came up with a plan. It wasn't as airtight as Wes would of liked but Cordy was getting impatient and an impatient Cordy is never really a pleasant one. The team split into 3 teams of 2 and hit 3 not so obvious entrances. Unfortunately, they didn't get far. Wolfram & Hart were expecting them. They were all escorted to Lilah's office.

"We have been expecting you." Lilah said grinning.


	6. Chapter 6

** I own none of the characters of Angel**

Angel was still strapped to the wall. He had been vamped up for the past 3 hours, channeling every bit of strength that he could muster, but it was no use. He was trapped. He could see and hear people rustling around outside of the dungeon. He knew that they were preparing for the ritual of returning Angelus. If Angelus were returned this would not end well for anyone involved. Angelus will kill anyone that is close to him. If Angel had a heart, he knew that it would be breaking right now. He was still holding onto hope that the fang gang would come to his rescue, but it has been hours and there had been no sign of them. Suddenly, a horrible thought crossed his mind. What if they had hurt Cordy after he was down? That would explain why no one had come to his rescue. Even though it was a possibility that Cordy was hurt or even dead he refused to believe that. If for some reason he made it through this as Angel, he couldn't imagine living without her. Suddenly he picked up a scent. It was a very familiar scent, a scent that brought a smile to his face. It was Cordy. She was here and she was alive.

"You guys have 5 minutes before we bring in the gypsies. Would you like to say goodbye?" Lilah asked

"Lilah, you cannot go through with this." Wes said.

"Times a wasting. Tick Tick." Lilah said looking at her watch "4 minutes 54 seconds remaining"

"Cordy, you go. Talk to him for all of us." Fred softly and Cordy nodded. As she walked into the dungeon she heard Wesley trying to reason with bitchface.

Cordy was shocked when she walked in. She wanted to run to him but the gun pointed at her head prevented it. She just stared at him. Her heart was breaking.

"Cordy" he said

"I am so sorry. We tried to get to you, but we couldn't." She said, her voice shaking

"Cordy I know that you did all that you could have done. I need you do me a favor."

"Anything."

"Tell Conner, that I do love him. He is my son and I am so proud of him." Cordy nodded. "Make sure that he is never alone. Angelus will want to turn him. They would be the ultimate vampire team and Angelus knows that so please, keep my boy safe."

"Of course we will."

"And if comes to it, if Angelus hurts you or anyone that I care about you have to stake me."

"I won't"

"You don't have a choice."

"Yes I do." She replied stubbornly

"Cordy you know how bad this can get."

"I won't stake you. I can't."

"It won't be me. It will be Angelus. You have to remember that. He looks just like me. But it's not me."

"I know that but you can't give up." She was mad. He was giving up.

"Cor, what choice do I have? I have used all of my vampire strength and I can't get out of this. You guys tried and I am still here. I am resigned to the fact that Angelus will be brought back. There is nothing else that I can do." Angel said sadly

"I'm not giving up." Cordy stated

"I know that. Just remember everything that I said." Angel said

"Angel, I love you."

"Cordy, I love you too."

"I am not going to let this happen." Cordy said as she quickly put an elbow into the guy who was holding the gun to her head. He gasped in pain and dropped the gun. Cordy picked it up and ran over to Angel and tried unsuccessfully to remove the chains and cuffs.

"Dammit, I can't get it loose." Cordy said desperately

"Cordy its no use." Angel said

"I have to save you."

"Cordy, you have already saved me in more ways then you could know." Suddenly the door was shoved open and a bunch of guards burst in with Lilah leading the way all of them pointing guns and wooden stakes at Cordy and Angel.

"Cordelia, you shouldn't of hit that nice man with the gun." Lilah said

"Go to hell." Was Cordy's response

"Your time is up. Let's go." Lilah said

Cordy just looked at Angel. He gave her the most wonderful smile. It was full of love. She stood on her tiptoes, closed her eyes and kissed him. She ran her hands through his hair. Angel was chained so he couldn't use his arms but he definitely made great use of his tongue and lips. Their tongues frantically searched for each other. Suddenly Cordy was pulled away from Angel. She struggled but the arms that held her were too powerful.

"Let her go." Angel growled

"What are you going to about soul boy?" A guard said laughing and Angel ignored him. Lilah then walked in with the rest of the fang gang and some very unhappy gypsies.

"I thought that you all would enjoy this." Lilah said

"This is stupid. In fact, it's suicidal." Cordy said, "Lilah, you have no idea what will happen if you do this. I am the only one who has had personal experience with Angelus. He will kill you."

"Get over it Cordy. " Lilah snapped "You." She said pointing to the gypsies. "Over here now." The gypsies slowly came in front of Angel.

"Why are you doing this?" Fred asked one gypsy that was standing near her.

"They have all of our children and they will be killed if we don't desoul him." The gypsy woman said sadly.

"Then you are doing the right thing." Angel spoke to the gypsies as they began to say their spell. Angel and Cordy stared at each other.

"I love you." Angel mouthed to Cordy

"I love you." Cordy mouthed to Angel.

The gypsies began chanting. It got louder. Angel and Cordy never took their eyes off of each other. A bright light came through Angel. He screamed. The chains and cuffs rattled. He was fighting it. Wes, Gunn, Lorne, Connor and Fred stared in shock and fear. They were scared for their friend and for themselves. Lilah was smiling. Finally Angel collapsed.

"Did it work?" Lilah asked the gypsies

"Yes mam. It should have worked." The leader replied

"I didn't ask if it should of work. I asked if it worked." Lilah was getting irritated.

The captive's eyes slowly opened. Cordy was still staring at him. As soon as those brown eyes focused on her she knew. Her Angel was gone. The monster was back. He laughed this horrible evil laugh.

"Man! It's good to be back." Angelus chuckled


	7. Chapter 7

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Angelus looked around the dungeon. He saw the fang gang standing there staring at him.

_What a bunch of losers. _He thought. _God, how can Angel stand to be around them? Now Conner, there are definite possibilities there._

"Wesley Wyndem-Price ex-watcher turned rouge demon hunter. Yeah, that worked for you real well. You have always been such a loser. I am so glad that you are here for my homecoming." Angelus said

"Don't get used to it." Wes said and Angelus just laughed.

"Fred, what a quaint little flower who is scared of her own shadow. I bet you are a screamer in bed and death." He said

"Leave her the hell alone." Gunn shouted

"Gunn, what a name. It actually suites you well. All gun and muscle but no brains and Lorne. What can I say about Lorne? A green 2-horned karaoke king. Go ahead, tell them Lorne. What reading are you getting from me?" Angelus was loving this

"Evil. Pure evil." Lorne replied and Angelus laughed.

"Now, my boy Conner. The fruit of my loins. You have made daddy proud."

"You are not my father." Conner snapped.

"Oh silly boy. You are more like me than soul boy Angel. Oh yes, son, you do have evil inside of you." Angelus stated

"You know nothing about me." Conner replied

"Cordy, Cordy, Cordy. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. I always knew that you had thing for my worse half. Too bad he has gone bye bye. Now I will have the pleasure of deflowering you. Oh wait you have already been deflowered. Oh well, it will be fun anyways when we get together."

"Keep dreaming Angelus. You won't be around here long enough." Cordy said

"And finally, Lilah, thanks so much for bring me back."

"It was our pleasure Angelus." Lilah said proudly

"So, what can I do for you?" Angelus asked

"It's simple really." Lilah began. "Wolfram & Hart is evil. You are evil. We want you on our team. Together, we can go far."

"Oh goodie. I love being evil. Is this a paid position?" Lilah seemed a little surprised at the question

"Of course we will pay you." She responded

"All righty then. Now Lilah, is this how you treat your paid employees? How about we let me go and I can start earning my pay check."

"Of course we can arrange that. We only want you to be comfortable." Lilah said "But you will need to sign a contract."

"Excuse me, a contract?" Angelus couldn't believe she said that. Who does she think that she is dealing with? Angel?

"All employees of Wolfram and Hart are required to sign a contract. We only want what's best for you."

"Fine. Whatever, but I can't sign a damn thing while I am strung up here like a puppet so get me the hell down."

"Of course. Gunn, let's get our boy down." Lilah said

"Get him down your damn self." Gunn snapped

"Come on Chucky. Let's bond." Angelus said laughing

"The only thing that you will be bonding with is my fist." That statement caused Angelus to laugh even harder.

"Anderson, go unhook our new employee. Angelus after you have signed the contract will we toast our new partnership with a nice warm glass of human blood." Lilah said happily

"Wow. A whole glass just for me?" Angelus said sarcastically

Anderson nervously worked on the chains. Angelus was staring him down making him more nervous. He couldn't get the cuffs undone because his hands were shaking so bad.

"Lilah" Angelus said. He was growing impatient

"Jesus, Anderson get the hell out of my way." Lilah said as she pushed him out of the way and began to release the cuffs herself.

"Lilah, don't do this." Cordy said softly

"Lilah do this." Angelus mocked. Lilah rolled her eyes and continued working on the cuffs. Suddenly the last cuff broke free. Angelus stood up and stretched. He rubbed his arms were the cuffs were attached.

"My, it's good to be free." Angelus said smirking. "Now Lilah are you sure that you really want me to sign a contract?"

"Yes, of course Angelus. It is office policy." In the blink of an eye Angelus had Lilah shoved against a wall.

"Told you so." Cordy said smugly.

"Lilah dear, I don't sign contracts. I work alone. But, in the future, if I do decide to work with someone, it won't be you." Angelus said staring at Conner.

"Of course, Angelus. I understand." Lilah sputtered

"And, I do want to tell you how much I do appreciate the offer of a warm glass of human blood, but I haven't fed on human blood in many years so a glass, just won't fill me up. I prefer to start my first meal with Angel's friends." He said then shoved Lilah against the wall, knocking her unconscious. Angelus turned around, in full vampire mode, smiling ready to attack.

The guards began to panic, dropping their weapons and running for their lives. Within seconds, Angelus had Fred by the hair, exposing her neck. Angelus began licking his lips.

"Fred, you are so skinny, there is nothing to you. Oh well, as an appetizer, you should suffice." Angelus sank his teeth into Fred's neck and began to drink. Suddenly Angelus felt a pain about an inch above his dead heart.

"Owww." Angelus threw Fred to the ground and Gunn and Wes rushed over to her to check her wound. Thankfully she was still alive.

Angelus turned around and came face to face with Cordy, who had picked up one of the guards weapons and used it on Angelus.

"You missed." He hissed at Cordy

"Oh no, I hit exactly where I was aiming."

"You will pay for that bitch." Angelus was holding the wound.

"Bring it on asshole, bring it on." Cordy said to the fleeing Angelus.


	8. Chapter 8

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

It has been 2 days since Angelus was brought back and he has been causing havoc all over Los Angeles. The body count was rising. Lorne had his friends put the sanctuary spell over the hotel to keep them safe. Angelus had still paid them visits but he was unable to harm the members of Angel Inc. Even though they had the sanctuary spell, they were still playing it safe and sleeping in shifts, 2 at a time at the hotel. Fred had recovered well from her bite and was back to work.

"Look, we can't continue to hide out here doing nothing." Gunn said. He was never one to just sit around and wait.

"If we go out there he will kill us." Fred said

"Not if I get to him first." He replied

"Gunn, get over it. He will kill you in a half of second." Cordy snapped. She has been extremely edgy lately, but no one could really blame her.

"Yeah, well I could take him." Conner said

"Conner, you can't take Angel down so there is no way in hell that you could defeat Angelus. He is much more powerful than Angel." Wes stated. The gang's biggest fear was Angelus turning Conner.

"I can't do this anymore." Cordy said as she threw one of Wesley's reference books across the room. Wes looked like he was going to throw up. The book was 2000 years old.

"Can't do what?" Conner asked.

"This. Nothing. I can't just sit around here while Angelus is out killing."

"Cordy, you won't need to wait much longer." Wes said

"Why not?" Gunn asked

"Well, I have surmised that we can't capture Angelus on our own. He is too powerful. We need reinforcements." Wes said

"Reinforcements? Like who?" Lorne asked

"Like me." A voice said from the doorway and they all turned around to see who it belonged to.

"Buffy." Cordy said

"We need a slayer and not just any slayer but the best slayer and that slayer is Buffy." Wesley stated.

"We can't kill him." Whispered a terrified Cordy.

"Cordy, believe me, I don't want to kill him. I just want to bring him down so we can reinsoul him." Buffy said and Cordy was silent.

"Ok, so I had a lot of time to formulate a plan on the way here. It's still daylight and Angelus doesn't know that I am here so we can use that to our advantage. We need bait." Buffy began

"I'll be the bait." Cordy said

"No!" The entire fang gang shouted. Angel would not want the women he loves put into direct danger.

"I don't want to use Cordy either. I want Conner. Wesley filled me in and I agree that Angelus will want to turn Conner so he will be the perfect bait. Are you cool with that Conner?" Buffy asked him

"Yes, definitely." An excited Conner replied

"Ok, Lorne Wes told me that you multiple contacts. Correct?"

"Yes." Lorne replied

"Great, Can you get the gypsies here to cast the spell again when we capture him?"

"Of course." He replied

Buffy looked at Wes and asked "Do you think that they will?"

"Most definitely." He responded

"Ok, Lorne, you go and find them now and make sure that you are back here before sunset." Buffy instructed and Lorne headed out the door.

"Wes, you, Gunn and I will all follow Conner from different points with tranq guns. Take any clear shot that you have. Hopefully, it will subdue him enough so that I can take him down." Buffy finished

"What about us?" Fred asked while pointing to Cordy.

"You two need to stay here." She responded

"And do what? Wash our hair?" Cordy asked

"Cordy, this is a tough job and I want you here where it is safe."

"I can handle myself."

"Not with Angelus." She said looking at Cordy.

Three hours later they were ready. The gypsies were at the hotel ready to reinsoul Angelus. Gunn, Buffy and Wesley were armed and ready to go. Cordy was growing impatient. She wasn't going to sit and wait for Buffy, Angel's ex, to save his soul. She should be the one to do it. It is her duty. She decided that she would let fate decide who would save him and planned on going out and offering herself as bait and see who he would choose. She couldn't tell anyone. She armed her self with the tranquilizers without the gun. If needed, she would just stick him with them.

"I am going back to my apartment for a change of clothes." Cordy said to the group

"Now?" Gunn asked

"I have been wearing the same clothes for 2 days and I am starting to smell. I have nothing else to do tonight, so yes now." Cordy was allowing her superficial side out right now. She really didn't care about the clothes. If it would help bring her Angel back then she would wear the same clothes for a month if she had to.

"You couldn't have come up with this idea a few hours ago during the daylight hours?" Buffy asked

"I didn't smell myself then." Cordy snapped and headed towards the door. The gang knew that there was no changing her mind.

"Be careful, and hurry back Cor." Lorne said

As soon as Cordy was out the door Wes and Buffy looked at each other.

"She is not going for clothes." Buffy said

"No she isn't. She is using herself as bait." Wes said

"Why the hell would she do that? Is she insane?" Buffy asked

"No. She is in love." Wes responded and Buffy stood there in shock. Angel and Cordy? No way. She was sure that it was a one sided feeling.

"Ok gang. Change of plans. We need to follow Cordy now." Buffy said and they all ran out the door.

--

Angelus was perched on the rooftop across from the hotel watching it as usual. He was quite surprised when he saw Cordy leave the hotel alone.

"_Hmmm looks like our girl is ready for a little something something from me." _Angelus thought, smiling to himself. "_Well let's not keep the princess waiting." _

Angelus jumped across the rooftops following Cordy. When she arrived at her apartment he jumped down behind her. He grabbed her around her throat.

"Hey there gorgeous. I know that you have wanted to get into Angel's pants, so I am here to make your wish come true." Angelus hissed into Cordy's ear.

"In your dreams." She responded.

"Do you want to know what I dream about?" He asked her as he spun her around to face him. Cordy was trying to reach for the tranqs she brought, but the way he was standing in front of her made it hard.

"Not really, but I am sure that you are going to tell me."

"Damn right baby. See Angel may dream of making love to you, but I dream of raping you then drinking you dry." He said smugly

"No fucking way." Cordy said and she pulled the tranq out of her pocket and stuck it in his shoulder

"Oww. What the hell?" Angelus looked as shoulder and then at Cordy. He face was full of fury.

"Fuck the rape. I just decided that I am starving." He said as he sunk his fangs into Cordy's neck.

She tried to fight him but it was no use. She felt her heart slowing down and she slipped into darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

_Damn she tastes sweet. _Angelus thought _Too bad there isn't more of her. Oh well. The satisfaction of killing the woman that Angel loves will tie me over for now." _Suddenly he felt a kick to his lower back.

"God Dammit." Angelus muttered as he roughly threw Cordy to the ground. "I was in the middle of dinner."

"Sorry to interrupt." A familiar voice said from behind him. "Actually no I'm not."

"Buffy." Angelus said as he turned around.

"Hey there honey. Did you miss me?" She asked him

"How about I show you how much I did?" He sneered.

"Now!" Buffy screamed as Angelus rushed towards her.

He didn't get too far before he was shot with 2 tranquillizers, 1 each by Conner and Gunn.

"Son of a bitch." He yelled. Between the tranq that Cordy stabbed him with and the 2 shots that he just received he lost his momentum and was slowed down enough that Buffy was able to kick him in the face and knock him unconscious.

"Fred, Lorne, check on Cordy." Wes yelled

"OK, he won't be down long. Gunn, Conner cuff and tie him up before he comes back." Buffy said and she ran over to check on Cordy.

"How is she?" Buffy asked

"Her pulse is barely there. She needs a hospital. She has lost a lot of blood and her wound won't stop bleeding." Fred said applying pressure to the wound but blood was still pouring out.

"The ambulance is on the way." As soon as the words were out of Lorne's mouth they all heard the sirens.

"We have to get Angelus out of here. NOW." Wes said

The gang loaded Angelus into the trunk of Angel's car and speed out just as the ambulance pulled up.

"She was attacked. She has lost a lot of blood." Fred explained. The paramedics quickly loaded Cordy into the ambulance and whisked her away to the hospital.

--

Angelus felt groggy. He vision was blurry. He couldn't move. _Why the hell can't I move? _He thought. Then he realized that he was chained to a chair.

"Hell no. Hell no. Hell no." Angelus snapped.

"Hell yes, you son of a bitch." Gunn said

"Oh, by the way, how is little Freddy feeling?" Angelus snickered and Gun punched him in the face.

"Oh well, at least I had my final meal. Yummy. Cordy tasted so sweet." Angelus licked his lips. "Oh yes, sweet revenge. When you dumbasses bring back Angel he will have to come back to a life without the woman he loves. That makes it all worth it. Angel will spend the rest of eternity miserable, knowing that I killed Cordelia." Angelus laughed.

"Would you please get rid of this sorry bastard?" Wes asked the gypsies.

"Yes sir. It will be our pleasure." Replied the gypsy leader.

"This will not be the last that see of me. I will be back."

"I wouldn't count on it." Conner replied.

"Aww come on son. You know that you want daddy to hang around. We could really bond during a ball game or we could go fishing. A real father son outing."

"Gee dad. I it will be hard, but I think that I can survive the rest of my life without bonding with you." Conner said

"Enough already. Can we just get on with it?" Buffy snapped

"Yes, lets." Wes said to the gypsies.

As the gypsies began their reinsoulment spell Angelus was cursing everyone in the room to hell. The gang could tell that he was in panic mode. He didn't want to leave. As soon as the last words of the spell came out of the gypsy leaders mouth Angelus screamed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" The bright light came through the evil vampire and he collapsed.

The gang stood around watching Angelus/Angel wondering who was going to wake up? They all hoped that it would be Angel. They suddenly heard moaning coming from the chair.

"Oh God." Came the voice from the chair.

"Angel?" Wes asked as he moved cautiously toward the chair.

"It's me." The voice said.

"Did it work?" Buffy asked the gypsy leader.

"It worked. His soul has returned." The leader replied.

"Cordy?" A desperate Angel asked. "Is she………" he couldn't even begin to finish the sentence.

"We don't know. She is at the hospital." Gunn said

"Get me out of here." Angel said as he struggled against the chains. "Now."

"Ok dad. Just relax." Conner said as he began to unchain his father.

"Conner please hurry, I have to get to the hospital."

"I know, I know." Conner said softly.

Five minutes later Angel was a free man again. He quickly stood up and a wave of dizziness took him over and he fell to the ground.

"Angel, the tranquillizers are still in your system. You have to move slowly." Wes said.

"Wes, I have to get to the hospital." Angel begged with tears in his eyes. "I have to see her."

"Come on. We will take you to Cordy." Buffy said. Angel had forgotten that she was still there.

"Buffy thank you for what you did."

"It's my job."

"Your job is to stake vampires, not save them."

"Yeah, well I guess it depends on the vampire." She said, "Let's go."

On the way to the hospital Buffy finally broached the subject of Cordy with Angel.

"So how long have you and Cordy been, well, you and Cordy?"

"You know?" Buffy shook her head.

"Right before I was captured by Wolfram & Hart we finally admitted our feelings for each other. That was as far as we got." Angel said, sadly.

"Is it serious?"

"I was hoping that it could be. But, I have never felt this way about anyone before."

"Not even me?" She asked

"Buffy, what you and I had, well, you were my first love. It was different and a part of me will always love you, but with Cordy it's different. I just can't explain it."

"I understand. I have found someone else too."

"Really. Who is it?" Angel was genuinely happy for her.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." She replied with a smile

Fred was waiting on the hall when they arrived at the hospital.

"Fred, I am so sorry." Angel said and he took Fred in his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Angel." Fred gasped. "Can't breathe."

"Opps. I forgot my own strength." Angel said sheepishly. "Fred, please forgive me for what I did to you."

"Angel, I know that it wasn't you. I am fine with it." She said.

Angel began looking around. He noticed Cordy lying in the bed, not moving.

"How is she?" He asked

"She is in a coma." The doctor said as he came out of Cordy's room.


	10. Chapter 10

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Angel felt his blood turn cold. Not Cordy. Not his wonderful & beautiful Cordy. Wes finally spoke up.

"Can you tell us exactly what is going on?

"Well as result of her attack she had lost a lot of blood." Angel cringed. "We have transfused her and her blood count is back up to normal. At some point during her struggle she must have fallen."

_Shoved hard to the ground is more like it._ Angel thought as the doctor continued to speak.

"She hit her head and as a result her brain is swollen." They gang stood around in silent shock. Finally Fred spoke.

"How long?"

"We can't be sure. Hours, days, weeks, months, or years. It depends on the patient."

_Years, did he just say years? This cannot be happening. I can't lose her. _Angel thought

"Is there any brain damage?" Wes asked

"We won't know for sure until she wakes up." The doctor said "If you have anymore questions the nurse can page me. I have other patients to see." He said as he walked away.

"Angel, you should go and see her." Lorne said. He sensed the heartbreaking vibes coming from him.

"No, I can't. You guys go ahead. I'll wait."

"Are you sure?" Fred asked softly

"Yeah."

"Dad?" Angel turned and faced Conner. "Cordy is strong. She is a champion, just like you. She will pull through this."

"I hope your right." Angel replied softly

Angel stood outside in the hall and just watched his friends talking with the woman he loves. About 30 minutes later they all came out of the room.

"We are going to the cafeteria to eat. You wanna come?" Gunn asked

"Not hungry."

"Angelcakes, you need to eat." Lorne said

"Not hungry." He replied. The gang quickly gave up and left. That is when he finally went into Cordy's room. He sat down next to her bed and picked up her hand and gently kissed it.

"Cordy, sweet Cordy, you have to wake up. I can't do this without you. I need you. Please Cor, please wake up." Angel begged

He had once heard that people in commas could hear you when you talked to them so he decided to talk about the good times that they had together.

"Cordy, do you remember the time that you took me shopping at the mall for a new wardrobe. I didn't want to go but you kept pushing and pushing me. I finally gave up because I could never say no to you."

"_Where the hell are we?" Angel asked _

"_It's called a mall, you dipshit. It's a building that houses lots of..." Angel interrupted her._

"_I know what a mall is. Why did you bring me here? When you said shopping I thought we would go to Wal-Mart or something."_

_Cordy snorted. "My God, you are hopeless." _

"_I am not hopeless. I just don't care about shopping or clothes." _

"_Oh, you naïve little man. Don't you know that clothes make the man?" she said laughing_

"_I am not little."_

_Cordy continued to laugh, took his hand and proceeded to drag him into every store in that damn building that sold male clothing. After she had decided that she was satisfied with her purchases she then started dragging him to all of the girly stores._

"_You have got to be kidding me." He said as they walked into the lingerie store._

"_What, you have never seen women's underwear before." He glared at her._

"_Yes but, this. What the hell is this?" He asked holding up a thong. Okay, that one he was not familiar with._

"_It's a thong Angel" _

"_How does it work?" He said staring at it. Cordy took it from his hands and adjusted it to show him how a woman would wear it. He turned red, grabbed the thong from her hands and threw it back on the table._

"_That just looks uncomfortable." _

"_Trust me, it isn't." Cordy said with a wink and walked away leaving Angel staring after her._

"God. Cordy, I was so embarrassed and as usual you took it all with ease. You know, those clothes are still hanging in my closet with the tags still on them. I don't know why you insist that I wear colors. I mean, black is a color right? I like black." Angel rambled on. There was still no sign of movement from the bed. He finally gave up and just sat there and watched her sleep. As he watched her sleep he the guilt that he had been feeling bubbled to the surface. It was his fault that Cordy was in this condition and he knew it. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He was so deep in thought, he didn't hear Buffy come in.

"How is she?"

"How do you think? She is in a coma." Angel snapped

"Easy there big guy."

"I did this to her." He said sadly

"No. Angelus did."

"Why, why the hell did she go out alone?"

"Because she loves you." Buffy said simply

"Well that is stupid. She knows what Angelus is capable of."

"Love makes you do crazy things."

Angel sat in silence for a few minutes. He then stood up and faced Buffy.

"You should have staked me." He said softly.

"What?" Buffy was shocked.

"You should have driven your stake into my cold, unbeating heart and dusted me."

"Angel..." Buffy began but he interrupted her.

"I don't deserve to live. Because of me, Cordy is in the hospital. Don't you get it? Everyone that I care about is at risk being around me." Angel voice was getting louder. The fang gang heard him and came into the room.

"I have enemy's everywhere and they will go after the people in my life. God, Buffy you have almost died before because of my enemy's. Wes, Justine slit your throat because of me. Lorne and Gunn, you almost died that night in the club because vamp hunters were after me. Conner, so many people and demons tried to kill you just because I am your father. That's not your fault. You didn't ask for this life but you are stuck with it because of me. And Fred, God Fred, I almost killed you. I probably would of if Cordy hadn't…. Cordy, look at what I did to her. She doesn't deserve to be lying here in a coma but she is all because I love her." Angel finished sadly

"Angel stop talking like that. None of this is your fault."

"Isn't it Wes? From where I am standing it's pretty damn apparent that it is."

The gang all started talking at once, all of them trying to ease his guilty conscious.

Angel held his hands up to get their attention." Hey guys, I am really sorry." He walked over to Buffy and gave her a hug and while doing so he slipped the stake out of her back pocket.

"Angel" Buffy said shocked. She tried to retrieve her stake but he pushed her away. He looked at his friends.

"I can't let anyone else get hurt because of me." He said as he held the stake up to his heart.


	11. Chapter 11

**I own none of the characters. They are owned by Joss Whedon**

"Angel, NO!!" His friends shouted.

Conner rushed over to his father and began to wrestle the stake out of his hands. As they fought for it the stake ended up in Angel's side.

"God Dammit Conner." Angel roared as he pulled the stake out of his side. Luckily, he was distracted enough by the pain, that Conner was able to get the stake away from him.

Suddenly, hearing all of the noise coming from Cordy's room a nurse rushed in.

"What is going on in here?"

"Sorry." Fred mumbled.

"That's it, everyone out of here now. Come back in the morning." She snapped.

The gang slowly filed out of the room except Angel who hung back.

"You too, out." She said to him.

"May I say goodbye?"

"You have 1 minute." She said and walked out of the room.

"Cordy, you have to wake up soon. I need you to talk me through this. I need you. Please, come back to me. I love you." He slowly kissed her lips and left the room.

The car ride back to the hotel was silent. No one was ready to talk about what had happened in Cordy's hospital room. They were scared. They were scared that Cordy wouldn't wake up and they were scared that Angel would try to kill himself again. Buffy finally broke the silence.

"Wes, can you drop me at the airport? My flight leaves in a couple of hours."

"Sure, no problem." He stated. They again rode in silence until they arrived at the airport. Buffy hopped out of the car.

"Buffy, thanks for everything." Fred said

Buffy leaned over to speak with Angel quietly.

"Don't give up champ. She will be ok." She whispered as she hugged him. He didn't respond. He just stared passed her. "Call if you need anything." She said to the gang and ran into the airport.

When they arrived at the hotel Angel went to his office.

"What do we do about him?" Gunn asked

"I'll talk to him." Wes said

"Good luck." Lorne said as Wes walked into Angel's office.

"Go away Wes." Angel said as he stared at the cup of blood in his hands that he hasn't drank yet.

"Not this time."

"Not in the mood."

"Why, what the hell were you thinking.?"

Angel sighed. He realized that Wes wasn't going to let this go.

'Dammit Wesley, Can't you see? Just being associated with me puts everyone's lives at risk."

"We all are were and still are aware of the risks involved in our business and it's our choice to stay, not yours."

"It's never been this hard before." Angel said with tears in his eyes.

"What?"

"Having a life. Having friends."

"Angel, having a life and friends is a great thing. It shouldn't be hard."

"If I was human it would be great, but I'm not."

"What does being human have to do with anything?"

"I have lived for over 200 years. The first 100 reigning terror and the second 100 plus making amends for my reign of terror, but do you know what the one constant was between all of these years, until recently?"

Wesley shook his head.

"I was a loner. I didn't make or want friends and that worked for me. It worked great in fact."

"But, Angel having friends is ok. It's actually normal."

"Yeah, for someone who won't outlive all of them." Wesley finally beginning to understand.

"Is that what this about?"

"I don't know…. maybe…. yeah."

"Angel…I.." Angel interrupted Wesley

"I moved to LA to be alone, but did it work? Of course not. First, Cordy wormed her way into my life and then my heart, what there is of it anyway." Angel said and laughed bitterly. "I tried to push her away, but you know how damn stubborn she is, it was impossible. Then the PTB sent Doyle to me with the visions. That was fine, as long as he was just my seer, but we became friends. But of course he died. The grief that I felt was horrible. I never wanted to feel that again. But, I know now one day I feel that grief again because of my relationships with my friends and Cordy. And when the inevitable happens, which it will, I will be the only one left standing grieving alone. I may be selfish, but I don't want to go through that. I don't want to be alone."

"Angel, it's not selfish."

"I have done horrible things in my long life. I have been cursed with a soul to repent for all the evil that I have done. I don't deserve friends, happiness or love but God help me, I love Cordy. Wesley, I love her so damn much that I would give my life so that she can be safe."

"She wouldn't want that."

"I know, and that is what has stopped me from walking out into the sunlight today. But, she deserves so much better than me."

"I don't think that Cordelia would agree with you. She loves you Angel."

"I know, but I can't give her what she deserves. I can't hold her hand and walk along the beach collecting shells if she wants. I can't give her a child. I can't even make love to her."

"Angel, your love can be enough."

"Can it?" Angel asked his friend with tears in his eyes. Suddenly Angel jumped.

"Angel what is it?" Wesley asked concerned and Angel pulled his vibrating cell phone out of his jacket pocket.

"God Dammit. I hate this damn thing." He snarled. Cordy made him carry it around and every time that it rang it scared the shit out of him. It was a pain in the ass.

"Hello…this is he… yes that's right…when did it happen…no, definitely…I'm on my way…thank you for calling." Angel turned around and faced Wesley with a smile on his face.

"Cordy is awake."


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own any of the characters. They are owned by Joss Whedon**

Cordy smiled as her friends walked into her hospital room.

"Cordy, I'm so glad that you are ok." Fred said as she rushed over to Cordy and hugged her.

"Fred, easy there girl. I'm fine." She said laughing.

"I am so sorry. I am just so happy that you are not dead." Fred explained.

"Yeah, well that makes two of us."

The gang all began talking at once, but Cordy didn't really hear them. She was looking around because someone was missing. She got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Angelus." She whispered

"Cordy It's ….." Wes began but she interrupted him.

"Don't tell me that asshole is still alive. If that is the case then I almost died for nothing and that really pisses me off."

"No Cordy, we took care of him." Gunn quickly said.

"What, oh my God, you killed Angelus."

"No Cordy cakes, Angel has his soul back," Lorne explained.

Cordy breathed a sigh of relief. "Well where is he?"

"He said that he had something to take care of." Wes said

Cordy clapped her hands like an excited child. "Oh goody. That means that is probably buying me a gift." Everyone laughed.

Angel sat inside the dark office waiting. He knew what he has to do to keep Cordy safe. It is going to hurt both of them. Cordy will be mad. She may even stake him, but if it will keep her safe, then it will be worth it. The door to the office opened, pulling him out of his thoughts.

_Let the games begin._ He thought smiling to himself.

"Angelus." Lilah asked with a hint of fear in her voice. "How did you get in my office?"

"We have some unfinished business Lilah." Angel said smiling. This was going to be fun.

"What can I do for you? Do you need money, lodging, endless blood supply? Whatever it is Wolfram & Hart will be happy to supply it for you." She was scared and Angel was loving every minute of her fear.

"Lilah, Lilah, Lilah will you ever learn?" He pushed Lilah into her desk chair.

"Angelus, what do you want?" She asked in her bravest voice.

"To kill you." Angel whispered in her ear.

"Then go ahead and do it."

"Believe me Lilah, if Angelus was here right now, you would be dead."

"Angel?"

"Yes, you dumbass, I am back and I am here to give you a warning."

"Warning?"

"If you ever use any one of my friends, especially Cordelia I, not Angelus, I will kill you. Do you understand?"

"You don't kill humans."

"I don't consider you to be human. If you ever cross me again, I won't think twice about destroying you."

"Angel, you don't have it in you." She said smugly.

"Do you really want to push me?" He sneered at her

"Consider yourself pushed"

"Lilah, whatever happens to my crew, son, or Cordy, I will do the same to you. An eye for an eye, I am sure that you have heard that before."

"Great, a vampire quoting the Bible."

"Starting, right now." Angel said as he stabbed her in the side with a stake. "That happened to me yesterday. Have a great day." He winked and walked out of her office.

An hour later, Angel Inc. left Cordy to get some rest. Angel still hasn't showed up. She was becoming anxious. She needed to see the man that she loved. She needed to kiss him, hold him and tell him how much he means to her. She was growing tired. She closed her eyes and continued to think about Angel. Suddenly, she sensed his presence beside her. She opened her eyes and smiled at the man of her dreams.

"Hey." She broke out into her huge smile.

"Hey yourself."

"Did you bring me a present?" She asked happily

_God, this is going to be hard. _He thought

"No."

"No?" She pouted. "Well where were you then?"

"It's not important." She didn't comment but motioned him to her bedside.

"Well, since you didn't bring me a present, you have to make it up to me." She said smiling coyly.

"How will I do that?" _Please, Cordy, don't make it any harder then is has to be. _He thought

"Like this." She reached up and took his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his.

_Oh, hell. I have got to stop this now, but God, I love kissing her. Maybe it can wait until later._ He thought as he began to return her kiss.

The kiss was hesitant at first. Slow and feather like. Angel's tongue gently probed Cordy, encouraging her to open up for him. She eagerly responded. Their tongues came together making up for lost time. She moaned and he groaned as she pulled him onto the bed with her.

Since Angel didn't breathe he could have kissed her all night without stopping, but unfortunely for him Cordy had to breathe. Whenever she broke the kiss for air, he just moved his lips over to her ear or down on her beautiful neck until she pulled him back up to her mouth. An hour later they finally parted.

"Now that was definitely better than a present." She said happily.

"Cordy, we need to talk."

"Oh no Angel not now." She had a bad feeling

"This can't wait."

"Look, I am not in the mood for a lecture. Can't we just make out again?"

"We shouldn't have done it the first time." Cordy sighed.

"I know that I shouldn't have gone out alone that night." She did expect this lecture from him.

"How could you of been so stupid?" He snapped

"I wasn't being stupid. I was just trying to get you back."

"You know, better than anyone, how dangerous Angelus is."

"That's why I had to help capture him."

"Cordy, I almost killed you."

"No, Angelus did." She said softly

"He is part of who I am. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now."

"That's stupid and you know it."

"No, it's not. It's the truth Cor. He is and always will be a part of who I am."

"Quit being such a drama queen."

"I can't risk you getting hurt. We can't be together like this Cordy."

"Why are you doing this Angel?"

"Because I love you and being with you can get you hurt, maybe even killed. Look what just happened to you."

"I don't like people making my decisions for me." She snapped

"I need to make this decision. It's the right one."

"It's not all about you anymore Angel. There is no just you anymore. There is an us. We love each other. When you love someone you make decisions together. Your not alone anymore Angel."

"I do love you and I have to protect you and this is the only way that I know how to do that."

"I am not a child, I don't need your protection. You trained me well Angel."

"Not well enough obviously since you almost got killed."

She ignored that comment. "You can't just come in here and kiss me like you did then break up with me. That is just unacceptable and I won't allow it."

"I'm sorry, Cordelia. It's over." He said softly, not looking at the woman he loved. He couldn't let her see the tears in his eyes.

"I'm not giving up on us." She shouted to his back as we walked toward the door. He felt her water pitcher hit the back of his head but he never turned around.


	13. Chapter 13

**I own none of the characters. They are owned by Joss Whedon**

_That son of a bitch. _Cordy thought as she sat in her hospital bed fuming. _Who the hell does he think that he is? Dumping me, Cordelia Chase. No one dumps me. I dump them. I am the dumper not the dumpee. If he thinks that I am going to take this lying down then he doesn't know me at all and if he doesn't know me, do I really want to fight for us? Who am I kidding of course I am going to fight for our relationship. I want a relationship with Angel and I always get what I want. _Cordy thought smiling as she began forming a plan.

One week later Cordy walked back into the hotel with three suitcases.

"Cordy, welcome back." Wes said as he hugged her causing her to drop her suitcases.

"Glad to be back." Cordy said as she hugged him back.

"What's up with the suitcases?" Conner asked her.

"Oh termites at my apartment so I am moving in for a week."

"Goody. Finally, some more estrogen around here." Fred said happily

"So where's Angel?" Cordy asked

"Oh sleeping beauty was out all night working so he is catching up on his beauty sleep." Lorne said

"Hopefully he will be waking up soon, because I found out where the Hocksaw demon is hiding." Wes said

"Well I will go and wake him up. I know just what he needs. Blood in bed." She said smiling as she warmed a cup of blood in the microwave.

She turned the knob on his bedroom door and smiling when it turned. She walked in and took the scene around her. The room was boring. No pictures. Nothing personal. Cordy decided that she would have to change it. She looked at the sleeping vampire before her. He was lying on his back, mouth open.

_Damn he looks hot. _Cordy thought to herself as she sat on the edge of the bed. _Ok sexy, time to wake up._

Cordy leaned down and pressed her lips to his sleeping ones. Even though he was still sleeping his body responded. He began to kiss her back. She ran her hands through his hair. She suddenly felt his eyes open and he pushed her away.

"Cordy, what the hell? What are you doing?" He asked sleepily

"Waking you up."

"Cordy, we talked about this."

"No you talked, and I choose not to hear what you said."

"Cordy, this isn't going to change anything."

"We'll see about that." She winked at him and headed to the door. "Oh by the way, Wes has located the Hocksaw demon."

_Great, just great. _Angel thought to himself as he got out of bed and began to get dressed. _I knew that she was going to make this hard but when I am responding to her touch while I am sleeping I am a fish out of water. Ok, Angel, be strong, you can do this._

He went downstairs and caught up on the location and the how to of killing the Hocksaw demon.

"All right, let's do this." He said as he headed to the weapons cabinet. He gave out weapons to everyone but Lorne and Cordy. Lorne was fine with that because he rarely goes out with the gang. Cordy on the other hand was not ok.

"Excuse me, have I suddenly become invisible?" She asked

"You're not going." Angel said bluntly and the rest of the gang backed away and decided to let their two friends hash this one out on their own.

"Yes I am." She said as she headed to the weapons cabinet but Angel blocked her.

"No your not."

"Jesus Angel, we are not children. Now move so I can get a weapon."

"You are staying here where it's safe."

"Either let me get a weapon so I can defend myself or I'm going without one but either way, I'm going".

"Fine." He sighed and moved aside. He knew there was no point in arguing with her.

Much to Angel's torture Cordy slid in the car right beside him. As he was driving she placed her hand on his knee.

_Dammit Cordy _He thought. _I can do this. Just concentrate on the road. _

_Hmmm, ok then that's not working. Well, time to up the ante._ Cordy thought as she slowly worked her hand up to his inner thigh. She smiled as she saw his knuckles turn white as he gripped the steering wheel harder. Her hand traveled higher. She grinned. She could feel his desire.

The car skidded to a halt.

"Thank God. Here we are." Angel said as he jumped out of the car. "Ok let's kill the demon."

Two hours later they all were back in the lobby covered in demon slime.

"Ewwww." Cordy said

"I'll second that." Fred said

"No matter how many times I get covered in this shit, it is still gross." Cordy said

The group laughed and all dispersed to their own rooms to shower and change. As Angel came out of his room with a towel around his waist he smelled her before he actually saw her sitting on his bed wrapped in a towel covered in water. He groaned.

"Cordy, what are you doing in here?"

"I need some shampoo." Angel walked into his bathroom grabbed a bottle of shampoo and tossed it at her.

"Here, now please go back and finish your shower." He begged her

Cordy slithered up to him, stood on her tiptoes, and lightly brushed her lips against his.

"Thank you." She whispered as she ran her hand down his bare chest.

For the next week life went on as usual with the exception of Angel and Cordy. She continued to flirt shamelessly with him and he continued to ignore it but as the days wore on it got harder for him. Cordy had told them that she would only need to stay a week and her time was up. She had one more night and she planned to use it well. She knew that she was wearing him down. He was spending a lot of time in the bathroom. Cordy laughed at that.

Cordy's last night at the hotel there were no demon or vampire attacks. They ordered some Chinese food, drank some wine, talked and laughed. It had been a long time since they had done anything like that.

About 12:30am Cordy decided she needed to put the last part of her plan to work. Angel had started to lock his bedroom door but she had learned to put her maxed out credit card to use. Wearing a very sexy nightgown she walked into Angel's room. He was wide awake staring at the ceiling.

"Cordy, please." He said as she slipped into bed beside him.

"Haven't you realized that I don't give up?"

"I've noticed that."

"Angel, you know me. I always get what I want."

" And what is it that you want Cordelia?" He asked as he rolled over to face her

"I want you. I want us."

"It's not safe for you."

"Haven't I proved to you that I can take care of myself?"

"I…I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you."

"Hey, I just got what I wanted. I'm not going anywhere."

"I can't give you what you deserve Cordy. You deserve to walk in the park during the day with your boyfriend. You deserve to babies. You deserve to make love to the man that you love. Cor, I can't do or give you any of those things." He said sadly

"As long as I have you, I don't need any of that shit. And hello? Since when I do I like walking in the park?" Angel laughed and pulled Cordy into his arms.

"It was just an example. I meant any activity in the daylight."

"Activities in the dark work just as well."

"Cordy are you sure that this is what you want?"

"I've never been so sure of anything before." She said smiling.

Angel leaned forward and kissed the woman he loved with all that he had. They spent most of the night exploring each other's bodies. Shortly after their kiss began her nightgown was off and his pants were quickly removed. She ran her hands over his finely sculpted chest and back. His rough and calloused hands ran all over her soft, creamy skin. They kissed every available piece of skin their lips could find. They lavished in this newfound taste. Even though Angel couldn't achieve a moment of pure happiness he came pretty darn close a few times and he made sure that his Cordelia had pure happiness many times. Hours later they finally fell asleep in each other's arms, skin on skin.


	14. Chapter 14

**I own none of the characters. They are owned by Joss Whedon**

Everything at Angel Investigations went smoothly over the next few months. Nothing exceptionally bad happened. They killed numerous vampires and demons. They even killed a demon that had a tendency to reproduce fully grown offspring, nothing that the gang couldn't handle.

Things between Conner and Angel were improving on a daily basis. After much talking, arguing and at least one physical fight Conner finally agreed to a tutor. Angel really wanted Conner to have an education. He wanted more for his son then hunting vamps for the rest of his life so every day, for four hours a day Conner grudgingly sits down for tutoring, thanks to a contact of Lorne's who was a demon tutor. He was actually doing very well in his studies. Cordy treated the boys to a baseball game, (night game, of course) which they both loved. It was the first game that either of them had ever been to, and it has now become a cherished memory for them both.

Fred and Gunn had broken up. Things had never been the same between them after Gunn killed Fred's ex professor. The split had been amicable. They were getting along fine and Wesley and Fred had been growing closer. At first Gunn was jealous but he was slowly getting over it.

Angel and Cordy were as happier then they ever thought possible. She never did move back into her apartment. She slowly made her new home the hotel and more specifically, Angel's room. His dull, boring room had slowly become very feminine. She had put pictures of his friends all over the room. On his dresser and nightstand were pictures of him and her. There were flowers, fake ones of course, placed throughout the room. His plain brown bath towels and shower curtain had been replaced with pink flowered towels and curtain. He had no idea when the changes had taken place and he knew it would be pointless to try and change things back, so he just rolled with it.

While they loved falling asleep and waking up in each other's arms, like every couple they each had quirks that annoyed each other. For example, Angel could never replace the toilet paper in their bathroom. After being stranded on the toilet a couple of times, she now checks the toilet paper status before sitting down. And don't even get Cordy started on waking up with Mr. Sunshine. He was such a morning person and Cordy was not. She needed an hour of quiet time. Not Angel. He always wakes up with a stupid grin on his face ready to have a heart to heart talk. She has told him to leave her in peace and don't even bother to try to talk to her until she has had her second cup of coffee. He doesn't listen and he purposely antagonizes her, then she get mad and picks a fight with him. By the time that they are dressed and at work they have usually kissed and made up Now Cordy on the other hand, was always using Angel's razors and shaving cream to shave her legs. Nothing irritates him more then shaving his face with a dull razor. And while he loves the way she looks in her bra's it drives him nuts that every time he wants to shower he has to take them all down from the curtain rod or towel rack and then she gets pissed off when she couldn't find them because he never puts them were they belong.

Despite their little quirks that drive each other crazy and their arguments they were very much in love with each other. They always managed to conduct themselves professionally during work hours. Occasionally, they would hold hands or give each other quick kisses or hugs whenever one of them left or returned from an outing. Angel was always found a reason to bring Cordy flowers, which she liked, or jewelry, which she loved. Angel found out that Cordy gave wonderful massages, which she gave to him often. They even were even able to act like a real couple on occasion. They often go walking hand and hand on the beach at night. Much to Angel's delight, they even went to the movies once. Though neither of them could tell you what movie they saw, they had fun, until they were kicked out of the theatre for making out. The pair even managed to go on a couple of real dates, although, their first date was a disaster.

"_Cordelia" Angel yelled from the shower after he had cut himself while trying to shave for the fourth time._

"_What is your malfunction?" Cordy yelled back as she opened the shower curtain. She then noticed the cuts on his face._

"_Shave much?" _

" _As a matter of fact, I have been shaving for over 200 years. Just never with a dull razor. Why can't you use your girly razor?" He snapped_

_She ignored his question. "Where the hell is my blue bra?" _

"_How should I know? I didn't wear it last." _

"_Arghhhhhhh" She yelled, flushed the toilet out of spite and slammed the bathroom door. _

"_CORDELIA" he yelled when his shower water turned ice cold._

_An hour later the couple, no longer mad at each other, were ready for their first official date. Angel had made reservations at a new restaurant in Beverly Hills. As they drove to the restaurant, Angel looked over at his date and realized how lucky that he was to be with her. As her watched her he noticed that she was having a vision._

"_What is it?" He asked her_

"_What is what?" She asked knowing what he was talking about._

"_Cordy." _

"_Doesn't anybody have any respect for a first date? Why is it that we have to go kill someone before dinner? I mean seriously. Don't we deserve a day off?" _

"_Cordy." Angel repeated_

"_Fine. There is a band at the Drama Club. The band manager is a vamp who is luring girls backstage with the promise of meeting the band but he is eating them instead." She said unhappily. "You know, I am sure that this just didn't start today. The PTB could have sent me this vision yesterday or even earlier today. But, that would be too easy. Now, we might miss our reservation, and dammit I'm hungry." She rambled and Angel just smiled._

_He pulled to a stop outside of the Drama Club, and leaned across Cordy to retrieve his stake from the glove box and he quickly kissed her._

"_Sit, tight. I'll be right back." _

"_Damn right I sitting tight cause I am not ruining my new outfit. I spent to much money to get vampire dust all over it." She said as he walked away._

_20 minutes later Angel returned to the car._

"_What took so long?" She asked_

"_There were 3 of them. The band manager, publicist and the sound guy were all vamps." _

"_Does that mean that they are all dust now?" Angel nodded his head._

"_Aww what a good little vampire you are, dusting the bad vamps." She said laughing_

"_Don't patronize me." He said and she kissed his cheek and grabbed his hand._

"_I love you." She whispered_

"_I love you too." He responded and he squeezed her hand._

_As they were hurrying into the restaurant, the heel on one of Cordy's shoes broke._

"_Dammit. Son of a bitch." She muttered_

"_What happened?" Angel asked and he received Cordy's death glare._

"_My shoe broke. Now, I have only one heel and I look like a dork." She said in a whiny voice._

"_Ok, let me see your other shoe." She looked at Angel questioningly, but sat down and lifted her leg up and he broke the heel off of her good shoe._

"_What the hell did you do that for?" She shrieked._

"_Now, you don't look like a dork." He said smiling_

"_Angel, I have heel glue in my purse."_

"_Opps."_

"_Opps, I am now wearing flats. I hate flats." Angel took Cordy in his arms and kissed her deeply._

"_Just because you kiss me, doesn't make this any better." She pouted_

"_You look beautiful in heels, flats, or bare feet."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really." He happily kissed her again._

_They entered the restaurant 30 minutes after their reservation. They were told that they would have to wait at the bar until a table became available. As they waited for a table, Cordy had a martini. 45 minutes and 3 martinis later they were given a table. She could usually hold her alcohol quite well, but this time she hadn't had any thing to eat all day so she was quite tipsy by the time that they sat down. They ordered some appetizer that neither of them had ever heard of before, but they were feeling brave. _

_As soon as their unknown appetizer, that smelled strongly like fish arrived at their table, and Cordy took one whiff of it, she puked all over the table and her new dress. They were then promptly thrown out of the restaurant. When they arrived back at the hotel, Angel cleaned his girl up, put her in a nightgown, fed her some crackers and put his drunk date to bed._

After their first disastrous date, their other ones went well, with the exception of a few minor problems. They both were happier then they had ever been. Some of their happiest moments were lying in bed, holding each other and talking. They would talk about anything and everything. Cordy especially enjoyed their conversations about Angel's life as Liam. He had told her things that he has never told anyone, ever before.

One night after a rough night of killing demons the gang was all stretched out throughout the lobby catching catnaps. Gunn was snoozing on top of the lobby desk. Fred and Wes had fallen asleep at Wes's desk and Conner was on the floor. Angel was sitting on the lobby couch and Cordy was stretched out with her head on his lap. As he sat there absently stroking Cordy's hair he looked around and realized how lucky he was. He had great friends, a great son, and a woman he loved and who loved him back. After all he had done in his long life he couldn't believe that he was this happy. He looked down at the women he loved and watched her sleep. He couldn't get over how beautiful she looked. He had a sudden desire to kiss her. As he leaned forward, the lobby door opened. Startled Angel looked up.

"You." He growled


	15. Chapter 15

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Totally forgetting that Cordy was lying in his lap, Angel jumped up, which caused Cordy to fall off the couch, and was at the door in a spilt second withthe visitor held up against the wall with his hand around her neck.

"Give me one good reason that I shouldn't kill you right now." He growled

"God, Dammit. Angel" Cordy mumbled as she picked herself up off the floor. "Son of a BITCH" The last word was meant for the visitor.

"I… I…can't…breathe." The visitor gasped

"And I should care why?" Angel responded, not loosening his grip around her neck.

"Dad, please let her down." Connor asked.

"Why should I? I told you that if I ever saw you again I would kill you." Angel spoke softly

"Angel. Release her." Wes yelled

Angel reluctantly dropped her to the ground. Gunn rushed over to her making sure that she could breathe.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here." Cordy snapped

"Justine, what are you doing here?" Wesley asked

"I came for a job." She replied. Angel and Cordy snorted in response.

"Let's hear her out." Gunn said

"No, Let's not. Why the hell should we give her a job? She helped kidnap my son and she slit Wesley's throat. Not the best qualifications, if you ask me." Angel yelled

"Look, what I did was wrong." Justine began.

"Damn straight." Fred piped up.

"My sister was killed and I was grieving and I wanted revenge. Holtz saw my need for revenge and he fed it. I was in a very vulnerable stage and he poisoned me against Angel and convinced me that Connor was better off without his real father. I am so sorry for the part I played in you loosing Connor, and Wesley, I'm sorry for trying to kill you."

No one responded at first.

"Dad, you know how convincing Holtz can be." Connor stated and Angel sighed.

"Ok, Justine, you have given me a decent reason for not killing you yet, but not one reason for why we should let you work with us."

"Since I ...um... since Holtz died." Justine mumbled

"Since you killed Holtz and tried to blame Angel." Cordy interjected

"Fine, since I killed Holtz, I have been fighting vamps on my own and they are getting the better of me. Vampires are evil. They killed my sister, my best friend and they all deserve to die, except for Angel, and I can't do it alone anymore. I have done a lot of horrible things and I want to try to make up for them." She said softly

"Justine, if you would please excuse us, we need to talk." Wesley said and the gang all headed into Angel's office. As soon as the door closed Cordy spoke up.

"No, way in hell."

"I am with Cordy on this one." Fred said

"Girl's got game." Gunn said.

"I believe that she may be an asset to our team." Wesley said

"How can you say that Wes? She slit your throat for God's sake." Angel said

"I am over it." He simply stated.

"Again, hell no." Cordy said

"Dad, we know how convincing that Holtz was. She was very vulnerable and easily swayed." Connor said

"Look, why don't I read her?" Lorne suggested

"Good idea." Angel said as he walked back out to the lobby. "Sing." He demanded.

"Huh?" Justine looked at Angel like he was nuts.

"We need to obtain a reading on you, and the only way to do that is by you singing so sing."

"Umm, ok well let's see. Uhhh, _Twinkle Twinkle little star"_

"Ok, that's good enough." Lorne said as he and Angel walked back into the office.

"Well?" Gunn asked

"She's clean. I don't see revenge or evil in her. Just grief." Lorne said

"Well, grief will make you do some crazy things." Fred said

"Guys, I just don't know." Angel said "I just can't over the fact the she helped take Connor away from me, and Wes, I know that I myself tried to kill you, but it bothers me that she tried to do it. I should be the only one allowed to try to kill you." he said with a weak smile

"Let's just say I don't believe that she was acting like herself when she slit my throat."

"Do you really want her here Wes?" Fred asked

"I think that she wants to do good things, for her sister's sake. She has been trying on her own, but it's not working. She needs help. If we don't let her work with us she will just keep it up on her own and end up getting killed or being turned."

"All, right team. Let's vote. All in favor, show hands."

Everyone but Cordy raised their hands.

"Cor?" Angel asked

"I'm not sure."

"How about a trial period? 30 days?" Gunn asked

Cordy thought about it. "Ok I will agree to that."

The gang all walked back into the lobby. Angel spoke.

"We have agreed to hire you on a trial basis. 30 days."

Justine looked grateful. "Thank you so much."

"And if you try to kill or kidnap any of us that is cause for immediate termination." Fred said and the gang laughed.

"I have one more favor to ask." The gang waited for her to continue.

"I have no where to stay. I have been sleeping in my car and the vamps are on to me now."

"You can stay here. We have plenty of room." Gunn quickly responded and Angel just stared at him. "I mean as long as it's ok with the owner."

"Fine." Angel said.

"Thanks, so much. So when can we go kill us some vamps?" She eagerly asked.

She might just fit in with this group after all.

The group went upstairs to find Justine a room, leaving Angel and Cordy alone in the lobby. When he went to finish the kiss he tried to start before Justine walked in she folded her arms across her chest and turned her face away from him. He ended up with a mouthful of hair.

"What was that for?" He asked

"You haven't apologized yet."

"For what?"

"For knocking me on my ass when Justine came in. It still hurts." She said coyly. Angel pulled her into his arms.

"I'm sorry baby for knocking you on your ass." He murmured as he slid his hands down to her butt. "Maybe I can kiss it and make it all better."

"I don't know. It really hurts. It may take a lot kisses to make it better." Cordy whispered in ear

"I know that it may be a lot of work, but I'm up to it."

"I'm sure you are." She said giggling as she kissed him full on the mouth. He picked her up, continuing to kiss her and went to their room and they weren't seen again until the next morning.


	16. Chapter 16

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

"Angel, behind you." Gunn yelled. Angel jumped up, spun around leg in the air and kicked one of the Werkly Demons in the face.

"Arghh." The demon growled as he fell onto the floor. Angel picked up his sword and chopped his head off. He quickly spun around.

"Connor." He yelled and tossed his sword to Connor, who then stabbed another demon.

At this point in time the crew of Angel Investigations were in one of the biggest elementary schools, battling a small army of Werkley Demons. The team has been following this case for over a month when Cordy received a vision. The Werkley Demons have been invading schools and stealing the innocence of young children and causing them to walk around in a zombie like daze with no emotion. The have all ready hit four schools and right now LA was currently being over run with dazed out emotionless children. At this point the gang could restore the children's innocence, but they had locate the Keeper of the Innocence who was under heavy guard.

"Fred, NOW" Wes hollered and Fred fired a flaming arrow at the head of a demon and blew him up.

Cordy kicked a demon in the shins then stabbed it in the gut.

"Justine, to the left." Cordy shouted as a demon ran towards Justine. She swung her ax at it and cut him right in half.

Twenty minutes later, all of the Werkley Demon guards were dead or dying. The gang took a few minutes to catch their breath and regroup.

"Ok, Cordy and Fred gather all of the kids and put them in the gym with the others that we already have here." Angel instructed and the girls nodded their heads and ran off. "The rest of us, we need to locate the keeper."

"He is never far away from the guards, so he must be here somewhere." Wes said.

"We should split up." Gunn said

"Good thinking. Gunn, Justine and Connor, you guys take the first three floors, Wes, you and I will take the top 3 floors. Use the walky talky if you find something." Angel said and the group spilt up and began searching.

Cordy and Fred also spilt up. They decided that this would be the fastest way to get the children safely to the gym. Fred had the first 3 floors and Cordy had the top three. Cordy was checking the last room on the top floor. She burst into a room and came face to face with a giant Werkley Demon, who was holding a blue glowing vase like item. Cordy had found the Keeper of Innocence.

"Oh shit." She whispered.

--

"Gunn, anything?" Angel barked into the walky talky.

"Nothing." Gunn responded

"Dammit." Angel and Wes were almost done searching the sixth floor and no one had seen anything. "Where the hell is he?"

"He has to be in the building. Cordy saw him here in her vision."

"Maybe he escaped while we were killing the guards."

"I doubt it. It's not safe for him" Wes began but Angel stopped him.

"Shhh." Angel said. His vampire hearing had picked up some sounds.

"What is it?" Asked Wes

"I think I hear him, at the end of the hall."

"Gunn, sixth floor, NOW." Wes said to the walky talky

"On our way."

Wes and Angel quietly went down the hall. The both looked in the window and found the Werkley Demon.

"What the hell is he doing?" Angel asked. They could see the keeper mumbling something incoherent.

"There may be some children in there. Perhaps he is casting his spell." Wesley responded.

Gunn, Connor, and Justine came around the corner.

"Ok, we think that he has some children in there." Angel began "We need to keep them safe. Conner, Gunn, and I will go for the keeper, Justine and Wes, grab the Jar of Innocence and the kids and get the hell out. We need the jar in one piece."

"If the innocence is released and the affected children are not in the same room, it will be gone forever." Wes explained

"Let's do this." Gunn said as the gang burst through the door and what they saw temporally froze them in their tracks.

The demon had Cordy held up against the wall. She was staring at nothing and showing no emotion. The demon had stolen her innocence. When he saw the intruders he threw her across the room. She landed hard against the wall on the other side of the room. She just lay there, staring at the ceiling.

"Kill him." Angel growled and the team went to work. Wes grabbed the Jar of Innocence and shoved it at Justine and she ran out of the room. Angel, Wes, Gunn and Connor all attacked The Keeper. He was also a Werkley Demon, but he was much bigger and stronger then the others they had faced. He was easily putting the guys down, but they jumped right back up.

The second that Angel saw Cordy lying on the floor, without the normal sparkle in her beautiful brown eyes, he saw red. He became a one vampire killing machine, at least more than normal. The Keeper easily knocked the other guys out, but he struggled with Angel. The Keeper managed to grab Connor's dropped sword and slammed into Angel's abdominal cavity.

"Son of a bitch, you bastard. That hurts." Angel grunted as he pulled the sword out and plunged into the demon. Angel's injury slowed him down for a minute, but he quickly pushed his pain aside and went after the demon.

The Keeper, shoved Gunn against a wall, Wes was trying to reload the gun with the flaming arrows on it. Connor had retrieved his weapon and was once again attacking the demon. Angel found his ax and with every ounce of strength he could muster he threw it at The Keeper who fell to his knees in pain. Suddenly a flaming arrow whizzed past Angel's head and landed in the heart of the demon. He died within seconds.

Angel rushed to Cordy's side and scooped her up in his arms.

"We need to get to the gym." He gasped. He wound was really hurting.

Gunn, Wes and Connor slowly followed. They all had received a decent beating and they all weren't moving too fast. For Angel, the journey to the gym seemed to take forever but in reality it took about two minutes. They rushed into the gym where Fred and Justine were waiting.

"Wes, Cordy, she's not…" Fred began then she saw Angel carrying an unmoving Cordy into the gym. "Oh God, is she?"

"No, she will be ok. The Keeper stole her innocence." Wes responded.

Angel sat on the bleachers in the gym, cradling Cordy in his arms. She just lay there, not moving or even blinking just staring out into space.

"Wes, we need to do this now. Angel said.

Wesley removed the spell and slowly began to read.

"Sahsumca. Bletfratin, Katinenin, Gerdbathim, Hobten, Merfedserin, Jadcudly"

Wes repeated those phrases 5 times. Suddenly a light came through the Jar of Innocence and shined brightly, lighting up the entire gym. Then the jar exploded. The gym was silent for a minute and then a wonderful sound filled the gym.

The sound of hundreds of children laughing, talking and singing had returned. The team of Angel Investigations cheered, with the exception on Angel who was staring at Cordy, waiting for a response.

Very slowly she closed her eyes. When she opened them again Angel saw that her sparkle had returned and they were full of love.

"Hey." She whispered groggily. Angel didn't say a word. He leaned down and kissed her lovingly on the mouth.

"Wow." She said smiling

"Are you ok?"

"Very tired and sore." She said

"Come on baby, let's get you home and into bed." He said as stood, up and carried her out of the gym.

"I think that I can walk."

"Not a chance." He whispered

On the way back to the hotel, the gang happily congratulated themselves about what they accomplished. When the arrived Angel gently lifted a sleeping Cordy into his arms and carried her to their room and deposited her on the bed. He crawled into the bed beside her, wrapped her in his arms and just watched her sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Cordy awoke a few hours later. She was slightly disoriented from the previous day's events. The last thing she remembers is the Werkley Demon. She feels someone stir beside her. She looks over and came face to face with a sleeping Angel. He had his arms wrapped protectively around her.

_My hero. _She thought smiling. A thought suddenly crossed her mind and her smile quickly vanished. She shook Angel to wake him.

"Cor, what's wrong?" He asked sleepily.

"The kids. I don't remember. Are they… Did we… Oh God. Please tell me you didn't save me instead of them" She said as tears began to fill her eyes.

"Shhh, it's ok. It's all right." He said soothingly

"No. It's not. They haven't even begun to live. They had their whole lives in front of them. I have lived a full life…" Angel put his finger to her lips.

"Cordelia, the children are all fine."

"Really?" She sniffed

"Really." He said smiling.

Cordy threw herself on top of Angel and deposited happy kisses all over his face. She slowly moved down. She kissed his neck, his shoulders, and slowly moved down to his finely sculpted chest. As she continued to move downward she suddenly stopped when she came across the wound on his abdomen. Her hand gently caressed it.

"What happened?" She asked softly

"The Keeper stabbed me." He said nonchalantly

"Does it hurt?"

"Hmmm a little, but its better now. You know me, I heal quickly." He said as he pulled her back up to him.

"Thank you." she whispered softly

"Your welcome. For what?"

"For saving the children, when I failed.

"Baby, you didn't fail."

"I let The Keeper cast a spell on me."

"You didn't let him."

"I did, because if I didn't he was going to break The Jar right then and there. He said that my connections to the PTB and my demon part would be very valuable."

"You did what you had to do. Cordy, you were willing to sacrifice your life for the lives of the children. God, you continue to amaze me." He said and he kissed her softly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." She said as she snuggled with Angel and fell back asleep.

--

She saw a man, she saw Angel drinking from a weird looking bottle, she saw Angel undressing her, making love to her, she saw Angel, not Angelus when it was over.

"What the hell" She mumbled as she sat up in bed. She had woken up about 10 minutes ago and was still trying to motivate herself to get a shower, when this cryptic vision hit her.

She placed her hand on Angel's side of the bed. It was cold. He must have been up for awhile. Sighing she headed for the bathroom to get ready for the day. An hour later she was heading to the lobby.

"Morning." She said happily

"Morning" Came the various replies. Angel met her at the bottom of the steps and kissed her.

"Good morning beautiful." He whispered.

"So anything new?" she asked

"No, things tend to be peaceful right now." Wes responded

"Angel, I need to talk to you." She said and he took her by the hand and led her to his office.

When they got to the office he took her in his arms and began to kiss her.

"I love these talks." He murmured

As much as Cordy was enjoying the kiss, she pulled back.

"I had a vision."

"Why didn't you say so sooner? Let me grab the gang." Cordy grabbed his hand to stop him.

"It doesn't concern them. It was about us."

"Us?"

"I saw you drinking something, then we were making love and when it was over, you still were you."

"Huh?" Cordy sighed

"You drank something. We did the deed. You became really happy. Angelus stayed buried." Angel was silent for a minute.

"What do you think it means?"

"I think that maybe we can and you won't."

"What about what I was drinking? Do you think that it has to do with why I don't change into Angelus?"

"It must of, or why would I of seen it." She said. Angel pulled her into his arms, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

"Do you want to make love?" He asked her softly.

"Hell yeah. Do you think that I suddenly became a prude?" Angel laughed

"Cor, I am so sorry that we haven't."

"Hey, I knew what I was getting into and what I wouldn't be getting when we fell in love."

"You said that you would be fine if we never did. Do you still feel that way?"

"I do. Don't get me wrong, sex with you would be, like wow, but not being with you would destroy me. I love you."

Angel kissed her deeply, putting everything that he felt for the woman in his arms, into the kiss. Suddenly, they heard someone coughing.

"Sorry, guys, there is someone here to see you." Said a clearly embarrassed Fred.

"Who?" Angel asked

"Both of you." Angel and Cordy looked at each other questioningly. They shrugged their shoulders and headed to the lobby.

"Sorry for interrupting." Fred whispered to Cordy.

"Don't worry about it." She said smiling

When Cordy got to the lobby she looked at the man standing before her. She has seen him before in her vision this morning. And in his hand, he held a familiar looking bottle.


	18. Chapter 18

**I own non of the characters of Angel**

As soon as Cordy recognized the bottle, she reached over and squeezed Angel's hand. He saw the bottle also and quickly surmised that it was the same bottle from her vision.

"Why don't you follow me to my office?" Angel said and the stranger complied.

Once the door was closed the stranger began to speak.

"Cordelia Chase, I believe that you have been expecting me."

"Who are you?" She asked

"My name is Nathan and I am here on behalf of the Powers That Be. They have been watching all of the work that you two have been doing and they are pleased."

"And they sent you to tell us that. How thoughtful." Angel said

"You two have risked your life on multiple occasions. Angel, you have dedicated your life to helping people. Cordelia, you were willing to die to keep your visions to help people and you have willingly given up part of your humanness and became part demon, to keep your visions. That is very commendable."

"Thank you." She whispered.

"The Powers have also noticed that you two are in love." Nathan continued

"And is that a bad thing?" Angel asked.

"No. The powers have been wanting to reward the both of you for your hard work and because of your love the Powers have developed the perfect reward for you."

The couple stood in silence and waited for Nathan to continue.

"We are well aware of Angel's curse. He has one moment of pure happiness and Angelus returns. The Powers want Angel to experience that moment, without the fear of Angelus returning."

"How is that possible?" Angel asked

"With this." Nathan said and he held up the weird looking bottle.

"What is it?" Cordy asked

"It is a potion that if Angel drinks it, you two will able to become intimate with no repercussions."

"How do we know that this isn't a trick?" Angel asked

"Ask your girlfriend." Nathan responded and Angel looked at Cordy

"Well, he is the same guy from my vision and so is the bottle."

"But how can we be sure that this isn't a trick from Wolfram & Hart. They have done this before."

"The visions were different that time Angel. I believe him." Cordy said

"The Powers expected that you would be wary of this offer. You may use any means necessary, expect for violence, to prove that this is real."

"Lorne." Cordy and Angel said together. Angel went out to the lobby to get him, leaving Cordy and Nathan alone.

"Is this for real?" She asked him.

"Your heart knows the answer Cordelia." Nathan said as Angel returned with Lorne.

"Angel pie, what's up?" Lorne asked

"We need you to read him." Cordy replied

"What am I looking for?"

"Anything evil, not pure, Wolfram & Hart, Lilah Morgan, anything in that general category." Angel said

"Got it. OK please sing for me." Lorne requested

Nathan didn't bat an eye and he began to sing.

"OK, nice voice by the way pussy cat." Lorne said

"Well?" Angel asked

"He is pure. I don't think that I have seen anything this good in years."

"Thank you Lorne."

"No problem sugar pie." Lorne said softly as he shut the door behind him.

"What's the catch?" Angel asked

"Well there are two catches…"

"I knew it." Angel interrupted

"Angel, let him finish." Cordy snapped

"The first catch is that this is a one time offer. You must accept before I leave because once I leave I will not return."

"And the second catch?" Cordy whispered

"Once you drink the potion, you only have two hours to complete the job, per say. If Angel achieves his moment of pure happiness after the two-hour mark, Angelus will return. Would you like a moment to discuss this?" Nathan asked

"Yes please." Cordy responded and Nathan left them alone.

"Cor?"

"I think that this is for real." She said

"I trust you. Are we going to take the Powers up on their offer?" He asked her and she nodded her head. Angel went to retrieve Nathan.

"Have you made your decision?" Nathan asked

"We'll take it." Angel said and Nathan handed him the bottle. "Remember, you only have two hours from the time of the first sip. Be very careful."

"Please, thank for the Powers for this. It means a lot to us." Cordy said. Nathan nodded and walked out the office.

The duo stood there silently at each other for a minute. Cordy then squealed in delight, ran to Angel, jumped up wrapped her legs around Angel's waist and began to smother him in kisses. He just laughed.

"We get to make love." She sang in between kisses.

"So, you wanna to do it now?"

"No way." Angel was shocked at her response

"Why not?"

"Because it will be our first and maybe only time. It has to be perfect." She said

"OK, so I take it that you are going to plan something."

"Hell yeah. I will tell you the time and place, and you just drink your potion and be there."

"So, do we tell them?" He asked nodding his head toward the lobby.

"No way. I don't want knowing what were doing when we are doing it. It will make me self conscious and I won't be able to perform to the best of my ability." She said giggling.

"I love you Cor." He said softly

"I love you too Angel, and in a couple of days I will show you just how much."

"I have to wait a couple of days?" He said in mock outrage.

"Yep, but if you play your cards right, you just might get a preview of things yet to come." She purred and kissed him deeply.


	19. Chapter 19

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Cordy has never been as excited for Valentines Day as she was for this one. The timing worked out perfectly. What better day to make love for the first time then the day of love. Unfortunately for Cordy and Angel they would have to wait a week to accept their reward. Angel was frustrated that they had to wait but Cordy refused to budge on the day and no matter how hard he tried could not change her mind.

Fred and Cordy decided that this Valentines Day they would all get dressed up and go have a nice dinner together and then after dinner the couples would go their separate ways. Wes and Fred had plans to go to the symphony. Gunn and Justine were taking Connor to a movie. Even though neither of them has admitted it Fred and Cordy think Gunn and Justine are together. Cordy had made reservations at a fancy hotel in Beverly Hills for the night. Angel thinks that renting a hotel room for the night is pointless but Cordy fought for it and always, when it came to Cordelia, he relented.

Cordy, Fred and Justine went shopping for the perfect dresses. They all had a blast shopping. This was the first time that Justine had hung out with them, outside of the office, and she fit in great. The guys were required to purchase suits, something Connor and Angel didn't want to do, so Cordy happily decided to do for them. She knew that she would make a better purchase then they would.

Valentines Day morning Angel Investigations found themselves in the sewers slicing up a Worm Demon who was preparing to mate with a human.

"That was disgusting." Gunn said as they arrived back at the hotel.

"I hope the smell comes out." Fred said.

"I didn't know that a Demon Worm was like a real worm." Conner said

"Yes, that surprised me also. My text didn't mention that even without his head, he could keep living." Wes said

"Ok guys, we all need to be ready to leave by 4. Who knows who long it will take to clean up, so I suggest that we all disperse to prepare for tonight and meet back here at 4." Cordy said and the gang went their separate ways.

As soon as Angel and Cordy got to their room, Angel began preparing for a shower. He quickly stripped down to his boxers.

"How about that shower now?" He whispered to Cordy as he wrapped his arms around Cordy's waist.

"No way dude."

"Excuse me?" A shocked Angel asked

"This is a real date so you have to come and pick me up and be surprised at my beauty when I open the door."

"Well what does that have to do with us not showering together?"

"Don 't argue with me. Now, here is your stuff." Cordy said as she handed him his garment bag with his suit and a duffel bag with his new shoes, socks, clean boxers, shaving supplies, and cologne.

"Now, go to Connor's room and get ready. Be back by four and not before." Cordy instructed as she pushed him to the door and kissed him goodbye.

"Can I at least have some pants?" He asked as the door shut in his face. "Guess not."

--

Cordy's heart skipped a beat when she heard the knock at the door. She knew that she looked good and she couldn't wait to see how good her man looked.

"Wow." Angel said as his eyes roamed over Cordy. She had on a simple, yet form fitting white dress. "I don't think that I have ever seen anything so beautiful before."

She smiled. Angel looked hot. The suit that she picked out for him was perfect.

"You're not so bad yourself." She said smiling as he leaned over to kiss her.

Angel held out his arm and the stunning couple descended the stairs towards the lobby. Everyone looked great. Connor looked so uncomfortable in his suit but looked extremely handsome. He was after all, the spitting image of his father.

The group had a wonderful time. It was just great to be with friends. They all valued the quality time that they could spend together because they very rarely got any uninterrupted time together. They were all somewhat sad when the dinner ended, but not too sad because they all had other plans.

Angel and Cordy arrived in the hotel room at 7:45pm. They hand their evening planned out perfectly due to their time restrictions. Angel would drink the potion at precisely at 8:00. Just to be safe Cordelia set the alarm for 9:50 so they were sure to be done by 10:00.

Cordy sat on Angel's lap, anxiously watching the clock.

"I want you to know, that you have made me the happiest woman ever, even without sex." Cordy said softly

7:55 pm

"In all of my 200 plus years on this earth, I have never been happier than I am when I am with you, even without sex."

7:56 pm

"I love you so much."

7:57 pm

"And I love you, Cordelia Chase."

7:58

Angel nervously held onto the potion bottle.

7:59

Cordy unscrewed the lid.

8:00

Angel lifted the bottle to his lips and began to drink.

8:01

She saw a home. She saw a family, 3 boys, and 2 girls, twins. She saw 10 vampires. She saw blood. She saw death.

Angel finished drinking the potion and looked at his beloved. Her beautiful brown eyes had clouded over white. She was having a vision.

"Cor?" He asked softly when she returned.

"I had a vision."

"I know."

"A young family with 5 children. Lots of vampires feasting."

"Do you want me to call Wes?" He really didn't want to do that. As much as he hated wasting even a second of this wonderful night with Cordy, this is something that he would much rather handle it himself.

"No, you have to go."

"Cordy, I am so sorry." He said as he held her tight. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Angel, be my hero and go save them." She gave him the address and he quickly ran out of the room.

Cordy went outside, sat on the balcony and let the tears fall. As badly as she wanted to make love to Angel, she knew that the helpless came before her hormones. That is what she had dedicated her life to, helping the helpless.


	20. Chapter 20

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

"Are you guys ok?" A breathless Angel asked. He never killed so many vampires as quickly as he did tonight.

"Yes, sir, thank you." He said. "What were those men?"

"They weren't men. They were vampires." Angel looked at his watch. "You should be fine tonight. Have a great Valentines Day." He said as he left the house

--

Cordy sat on the balcony with her arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the black ocean, listening to the waves, She had planned on sitting out on the balcony but in her plans Angel was with her and they were wrapped in each others arms, wearing nothing but a blanket. She let her tears fall freely.

She knew what being involved with Angel meant. No sex. She had come to accept that and besides, they have discovered many activities during the dark hours of the night to keep them both satisfied. But since they were given the opportunity to make love and it was cruelly taken from them, it hurt like hell.

Suddenly she felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around her and very familiar lips gently kiss her check.

"Cor, why the tears?" Angel whispered, as he tasted the water and salt

"I am so glad that you saved that family tonight, wait you did save them right?" Angel nodded and Cordy continued, "You did what you had to do. I am so proud of you for that, but I'm sorry that we missed our one chance." Angel moved to face Cordy

"Baby, we didn't miss it yet. We still have time."

"How much?" Angel looked at his watch

"About an hour and fifteen minutes" Cordy jumped up and grabbed his hand.

"Lunkhead, why didn't you say so? Let's go." She said as she drug him back into the room laughing.

She led him back into the room until they were standing at the front of the bed. Angel took her face and gently kissed her lips, behind her ear, down her neck, and between her breasts. She quickly unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off of his shoulders. She ran her hand over his chest. Her tongue found his nipples and she took one in her mouth. He groaned with desire. Her hands undid his belt, found the button on his pants, unzipped them and slid them down his hips and they fell to the floor. Without removing his mouth, Angel's hand unzipped her dress, removed the straps and it fell to the floor. She was in her beautiful naked glory under that dress. Angel stared at her, painful with desire. He didn't think that he could get much harder then he was at that point. He was definitely wrong.

"You had nothing under there the whole time? He asked huskily

"That's right, and right now, you still are wearing too much clothing." She purred.

He quickly removed his boxers, picked her up and gently deposited her on the bed. She quickly pulled him down on top of her. He kissed every inch of her body. His tongue teased her very erect nipples. Her hand found his penis, which she began to stroke, encouraging him. With his knee he quickly spread her legs. His hand wandered south to see if she was ready. She was soaking wet at hot. She was definitely ready for him. He entered her slowly, wanting to savor every minute of this pleasure.

"Oh God." Angel moaned with desire. Nothing has every fit him so perfectly as Cordy fit him right now.

"Angel." She gasped. She threw her legs around his waist, wanting to get every ounce of pleasure from this experience as possible. Angel began thrusting slowly, causing Cordy to moan with pleasure. He withdrew from her and used his fingers to tease her. She squirmed beneath him. Smiling, he thrust into her again, harder and faster. Her nails, dug into his back.

"Oh my God." She moaned loudly beneath him as he moved faster within her.

"Cordy." He breathed as he pumped himself into her.

Angel pumped himself into her as hard and as fast as he could.

"Angel, Oh God, ANGEL." She screamed as her toes curled in delight and he poured himself into her. A very content Angel collapsed on top of Cordelia. He was still inside of her, not wanting to end this wonderful night yet.

"Can't….breathe…" She gasped as she hit Angel's back.

"Cordy, I'm sorry." He said as he quickly rolled off of her. "I just wanted to stay close to you for as long as I could."

Cordy had herself propped up on one elbow, drawing lazy circles across his chest. "Did I make you happy?"

"Perfectly happy."

"Are you evil?" She asked

"Look in my eyes and you tell me." Cordy looked into Angel's eyes and saw nothing but happiness and love.

"Nope, not evil." She said as she climbed on top of him and began to kiss him passionately.

"Cor." He groaned as his hands fondled her breasts.

"I think that we have time for another go round." She whispered as her hand found his already hard penis.

Angel looked at the clock. "Really?"

"Oh yeah," She said seductively.

Angel started to sit up but Cordy pushed him back on his back. Angel's eyes grew wide. She straddled his hips and placed herself on top of his penis and slowly lowered herself down. She has never been with anyone as big as Angel before, so it uncomfortable for a half of second, but she quickly adjusted herself and felt much better. She leaned forward so her breasts landed in his mouth. He sucked on them one at time.

"Ummm. God." He whispered. She took his hands, guided them to her naked hips.

"Help me out here." She gasped. She began to move herself up and down. As fast as she moved, it wasn't fast enough to satisfy her. Angel gripped her hips and helped her move. Finally with his assistance, she reached her orgasm quickly. She arched her back, and screamed out his name, as her back arched it put Angel where he needed to be and he spilled into her.

"Wow." He said as she climbed off him.

"You weren't so bad yourself." She said as the alarm next to their bed went off.

When Cordy returned from the bathroom, still naked she walked over to his side of the bed and held her hand out to him.

"Come with me." Angel didn't hesitate as she led him out to the balcony.

"Cor, I'm naked." He said as he stepped outside with her. "People may see."

"Believe me, you have nothing to be ashamed of, but I know how modest you are so that's why I brought this." She said as she pulled a blanket off of the chair.

Finally, after much convincing, she and Angel were sitting together on a lounge chair, wrapped in the blanket, kissing.

"Angel, this was the best night of my life." She whispered as his mouth traveled down her neck and his hands fondled her breasts.

"Cordy, you were amazing." He responded between kisses.

"I will remember this always." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck, causing the blanket to fall and expose her breasts. Angel picked her up and took her back to bed.

"Angel, our time is up."

"I know."

"So, what are we doing?"

"Just because we can't have sex, doesn't mean that our night has to end yet." He said as his mouth covered Cordy's.


	21. Chapter 21

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

As Angel hung up the phone he rolled over and tried snuggle with Cordy. Before he could snuggle he was met with an elbow to the nose.

"Hey you wanna wake up?" He whispered as he rubbed his nose.

"Ummph." Cordy mumbled as she pulled the blankets over her head.

Angel realized that she wasn't going to budge for a while so he got up, threw on one of the bathrobes that the hotel provided, and went to warm a cup of blood that Cordy brought over with them. He was starving.

As he drank his blood, he sat on the edge of the bed and watched Cordy sleep. She looked so peaceful right now, but she was far from a peaceful sleeper. He couldn't begin to count how many times he has been hit, slapped, or elbowed during the night. She was a rough sleeper. If it's not the flailing arms that wake him up during the night, it's the puddle of drool on his chest or the snoring in his ear. Yes, Cordelia Chase drools and snores. When Angel told her that snores, in pure Cordy fashion, she adamantly denied it. He began to smile as he recalled when he proved it to her.

"_Cor, I need you to hear this." Angel said as he placed the tape in the deck._

"_What is it?"_

"_Proof of your snoring. I taped you last night."_

"_You did what" She yelled_

"_Just listen." He said as he pressed play and the sound of her snoring filled the room._

"_Whatever dork." She said as she stopped the tape. "All you have on this tape is someone snoring, It's probably you," _

"_Umm baby, it's not me."_

"_You have no proof. It's a tape, not a video." She said smugly _

"_You need to breathe to snore and only one of us standing here breathes."_

"_Oh…yeah….opps. You still love me even if I do snore?" _

"_I think I can overlook the snoring and still love you." He said laughing as he pulled her into his arms. _

A knock at the door pulled Angel away from his thoughts. He had ordered an omelet for Cordy from room service. Smiling as he shut the door, he knew that this would wake her up. He put the champagne and strawberries in the fridge. He had plans for later with those items.

"Cordy…breakfast." He said as he put the plate next to her head.

"Ummmmm" She was coming around.

"It's your favorite." Cordy sat straight up.

"Omelet with cheese, mushrooms, peppers and onions?"

"Of course."

"Ohhh, I love you." She said as she took the plate from his hands and began to eat.

Angel slid back into bed with her and watched her eat. He couldn't help but stare at her. She was beautiful. Her blankets had fallen to her waist when she woke up so she was thoroughly enjoying her breakfast without a lick of clothing covering her beautiful breasts.

"Must you stare?" She asked

"Can't help myself." He said as he leaned over to kiss her.

"Hey, eating here." She said as she stuck the fork in her mouth before his lips landed there.

"I arranged for us to stay here another night."

"You did?" Her eyes lit up.

"Last night was so wonderful, I'm not ready for it to end. I already talked to Wes and he'll call us if anything urgent comes up. So, my lady, today is all about us."

"Eeek." She yelped as she wrapped her arms around Angel. "You are the most wonderful vampire ever."

"I aim to please."

"You sure do." She said with a giggle. She lightly pressed her lips to his.

"Nice robe." She said

"I thought so."

"Looks better off."

"In case I didn't mention it, you were amazing last night." He said as he removed the robe.

"You weren't too bad yourself sexy."

"What was up with your legs around my waist? It was, if I may use the word again, amazing."

"It allowed me to feel every inch of you inside of me."

"Well until that can happen again, this will have to suffice." He mumbled as he dove his fingers into her.

"Ohhh." She gasped

While his hand stroked Cordy's most private area his lips left a trail of kisses down her body. His kisses slowly moved south. His tongue found her clitoris. He gently kissed, sucked and nipped at her engorged womanhood.

"Good…God."

Because they couldn't make love Angel and Cordy had found other ways to fill their sexual desires. He knew exactly what she liked and how she liked it. He removed his fingers and replaced them with his tongue. He smiled as he heard her groan. His tongue alternated with being inside of her and teasing her clitoris. Her hands ran through his hair. He pulled away and kissed the inside of her of leg, staring at the knee and moving downwards. She was getting close, he could tell. She was no longer gently playing with his hair but was now pulling it and him back to her center. He happily obliged. His tongue went back to work. The sounds coming from her mouth were primal. He loved it. It made his tongue move faster. Suddenly the warm flood of Cordelia rushed into his mouth.

"Oh…dear…God." She panted as Angel slowly covered her body in kisses.

"Did you enjoy that?" He said as he collapsed beside her.

"Shit yes I did."

"Good. I'm glad."

"Now, it's your turn sweetie."

Cordy crawled on top of Angel and begins to kiss him. Her mouth found his nipples and she began to suck on them. He loved that. She continued to move down his chest, dragging her tongue across every inch of it. He was immediately hard. Her hand found his extremely large manhood, and she began to stroke it. He moaned in pleasure. That was her signal. Her mouth slowly covered him, moving up and down. Her mouth found his friends and she ran her tongue over them. This time, it was Angel's hands running through Cordy's hair as her head moved up and down.

"Cor…"

She smiled. She loved rendering him helpless. She ran her teeth up and down his length. He groaned. She placed her mouth back over him to finish the job. Angel tapped her shoulder, signaling her that he was ready. She slowly pulled back and replaced her mouth with her hand. She smiled as her hand helped send Angel over the edge.

"Well?"

"Ummm it was all right." He said grinning

"All, right?" She shrieked, "I know that it was better than all right. In fact I guarantee that it was fan-"

She never got to finish her sentence because Angel tackled her to the bed with kisses. She pushed him away.

"No kisses until you admit how good I made you feel." She said as she crossed her arms across her naked breasts.

"Suit yourself." He said as he walked to the bathroom.

She heard him turn on the water to the tub. She refused to give in. She watched him as he walked to the fridge and poured himself a glass of blood, never taking his eyes off of her. She put her nose in the air as he finished his drink. She watched him as he pulled some package out of the fridge and headed back to the bathroom. She heard him turn the jets of the Jacuzzi on. After three minutes her curiosity got the better of her and she stalked into the bathroom to see what he was doing.

"You rocked my world baby." He said as she stood in the bathroom, staring at him, sitting in the Jacuzzi, sipping champagne and eating a strawberry. "Care to join me?"

"Where did this come from?" She asked as she stepped into the Jacuzzi.

"I ordered it this morning when I couldn't wake your ass up."

"How, thoughtful." She said as he handed her a glass of champagne. She took a slow sip.

"Yummy. My favorite."

"I know, so how about my kiss now?" Cordy slid over to him, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply.

After they finally tore themselves away from each other, she leaned back on Angel's chest and they fed each other strawberries.

"This is perfect. Think we could stay like this forever?" She mumbled as his arms tightened around her.

"God, I wish we could."

"Did you mean what you said this morning?"

"Baby, I said a lot of things this morning. Care to clarify"

"You said something like, until we can do it again. Do you think it could happen?"

"I didn't that it would happen the first time, so I am going to hope like hell, for a second."

"And if it doesn't?" She asked sadly

"Then I will live happily with the memory of last night to last for a lifetime, but I worry about you."

"Me?"

"Will the memory of last night be enough for you?" She thought about it for a minute.

"Yes, it will be enough, as long as we continue to engage in the extra curricular activities that we engaged in this morning."

"Oh yeah, this mornings and hopefully this afternoons activities will continue." Cody giggled.

"I hope you know, how much I love you Angel. I have never loved anybody like I love you. You are stuck with me forever."

"I will hold you to that. I love you too."

Angel and Cordy spent the rest of the day holed up in the room, alternating between the bed and Jacuzzi. That night they lay in bed talking about anything and everything. When they finally fell asleep, they were holding each other tightly, dreaming of their future together, whatever it may be.


	22. Chapter 22

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

About a month later Cordy yawned, stretched and looked at the bedside the clock. It was 11:00 am. She was exhausted. As much as she would of love to lounge in bed all day, she knew that there was work to be done. Sighing, she got out of bed and headed for the shower. Before she made it to the bathroom, she was hit with the most disturbing vision to date.

--

"That was so cool." Justine said as they walked back into the lobby.

"Damn straight." Gunn said. "Did you see how far his head rolled when Angel chopped it off?"

"Yes, that was quite impressive." Wes said

"Too bad Cordy missed it." Fred said

"Where is our Cordycakes?" Lorne asked

"She was tired this morning. I'm surprised that she isn't down here yet. I will go to check on her." Angel said as he tossed his sword to Connor to clean it.

"Come on dad. Haven't I finished my punishment yet?"

"No way. Your lucky that I let you come today, so next time you decide to blow a test off, remember this."

"Yes sir." Connor said as he stalked away with everyone's weapons.

"I'm going to go get Cordy. Guys we all know what know what still needs done. It'll take him about an hour." Angel said

"It's all under control." Fred said smiling.

"Thanks so much guys for helping me and Cor do this."

"No, problem. We love the little pipsqueak too. He deserves it." Lorne said

Cordy was on the floor, just coming out of her vision when Angel opened the door to their room. He ran over to her. She was shaking. It's been a long time since he as seen her react this way after a vision.

"Cor…" Angel said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"A vision."

"I know, tell me about it."

"No, it can't be true."

'What did you see?"

"No, not now, I have to go." There was a knock at the door.

"Go away." Angel yelled.

Cordelia ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. Ten minutes later, she came out of the bathroom, hair shining, teeth brushed and faced washed. She grabbed her purse.

"Where the hell are you going? You need to tell me about your vision."

"Later, ok, I'll tell you later. Right now, I have to go get proof."

"Proof, since when do you need proof about a vision?"

"Since this one." Cordy said as she threw open the door to their room, only to come face to face with Nathan. Cordy froze and just stared at him.

"Cordy, what the hell" Angel said as he rushed over to the door. He stopped cold when he saw Nathan at the door.

"Nathan, what are...why are…is everything…" Angel couldn't think straight.

"May I come in?" Nathan asked politely. Angel and Cordy moved aside so he could enter.

"So Nathan, what do we owe this honor?" Angel asked

"Cordelia, you didn't tell him the good news yet?" Cordy numbly shook her head.

"Cor, what the hell? Does this have to do with your vision?" Cordy just looked at him.

"I needed to be sure before I said anything."

"Sure about what?" Angel was totally lost. The last time Nathan showed up after a vision, they were given a reward. This time something is different.

"Angel, I think that I'm pregnant." She whispered.

"Now, Cordelia, there should be no thinking about it. You got the vision. You know that it's true." Nathan said

"Pregnant?" Angel whispered.

"I don't understand how this happened. Even if we can get past the fact that a vampire can't have children because he has already conceived one child, what about me? I have been on the pill for years. I am always careful in regards to taking it. I have had sex before Angel and I have never ended up pregnant before, so why now?"

"The Powers That Be wanted you to have Angel's child, so they made it happen."

Angel was in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"What about what I want? Maybe I don't want to be a mom. Maybe I don't want to get fat."

"Cor?" Angel said

"The Powers just arranged for the pregnancy to happen. What you choose to do about it is up to you."

"Then why are you here." Cordy asked.

"To confirm your vision. The Powers knew that you would question what you saw, so they sent me to tell you it's true, so you can save your money on the pregnancy test that you were going to buy. Have a good day." Nathan said as he walked out of his room.

As soon as the door shut the tears fell from Cordy's eyes. Angel rushed over to her.

"Cor, Why the tears? This is great news."

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Of course you can. You are the strongest woman I know."

"I'm too selfish to be anyone's mother." She sobbed

"Cordy, you have changed so much over the years. You aren't selfish. You risked your own life on so many occasions to help others. Remember how wonderful you were with Connor, you didn't think twice and you helped me with him and you were wonderful at it. It was like you were meant to raise him." Angel said softly

"Do you really think that I, that we, can do this? Our life isn't exactly The Brady Bunch. What if someone or something tried to hurt our baby? Can we really bring a baby into this kind of world?"

"I think that we can do whatever we set our minds too. Separately we are amazing. Together, we can be unstoppable."

"Do you really believe that?" Cordy asked sniffling.

"Have I ever lied to you before?"

"No."

"And I have no intention of starting now, but I do have one question for you."

"What is it?"

"Why are you are the pill? Is there something that I should know?"

"Good God, silly vampire. I have been taking the pill for years to regulate my periods."

"Oh."

"Baby, there is and there will never be anyone but you."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

"Angel, I can't believe that this is happening. We are going to be parents."

"I know." He said with tears in his eyes. He gently placed his hand on her flat stomach.

Cordy placed her hand on top of his and he kissed the mother of his child deeply.

"Come on, let's go tell the gang." Angel said when they finally broke apart.

"No, not yet."

"Why not?"

"Well first of all, they don't even know that we made love and secondly, I want to go to the doctor, just to make sure everything is fine and besides, tonight is Connor's night. I don't to take anything away from him. It needs to be all about him."

"Oh God Connor, what will he say? Do you think that he'll be angry?"

"He has grown up a lot in the last year. I think that he will be happy for us."

"I hope your right." Angel said uncertainly.

"Hey, I'm trusting you about our baby, so now, you need to trust me about Connor. Deal ok?"

"Deal." Angel said then he looked at his watch. "Shit."

"What's wrong?"

"Connor's party. It's starting soon. We need to get downstairs."

"Ok, but one thing that I need to tell you first."

"What's that?"

"I hope you know how much I love you, because I won't get fat for just anyone."

"I love you and I am so glad that it's me that you're going to get fat for, because the thought of you, with a growing belly, really turns me on." He said smiling as he pulled Cordy towards him for another kiss. He hand quickly found her breast. She moaned.

"Angel… party…Connor." He reluctantly pulled away.

"You're right. But be prepared to finish this up later."

"Bet your ass we will." She said as she led him towards the door.


	23. Chapter 23

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Angel looked as his watch and sighed irritably,

"Where the hell is he?" Angel grumbled

"Hey relax, give him time." Cordy said as she squeezed his hand.

"Let me try." Fred said and she ran over to the top of the basement steps.

"Connor, Cordy, had vision. We are leaving in one minute." Giggling Fred ran back to her position. Seconds later they heard Connor running up the stairs.

"Good job Fred." Justine said

"Shhhh." Gunn said

"Here I am. Hey what the hell? Did they leave without me?" A confused Connor said to the empty lobby.

"SURPRISE" Angel, Cordy, Lorne, Justine, Gunn, Fred and Wesley all yelled as the jumped out of their respective hiding places causing Connor to jump.

"What is going on?"

"You may not realize this Connor, but today is your birthday." Wesley explained

"My what?"

"Today is the day that you were born." Cordy said.

"I wasn't born today."

"They don't celebrate birthday's in Cortaux." Fred began. "In this dimension, every year we celebrate the day that a person was born, on the day they were born every year after their birth."

"But, why? What is the purpose?"

"To remind ourselves how lucky we are that you are here and in our lives." Cordy said

"So how do we celebrate?"

"With cake, ice cream, and presents." Cordy shouted

Loren brought out a cake with two lighted candles. The whole gang began to sing. When they were done Connor just looked at them like they were insane.

"Now what?"

"You blow the candles out." Gunn said

"Why?"

"Because you can't make a wish unless you blow the candles out." Justine explained

"Wish?"

"Yes Connor, it's tradition, you make a wish and then blow out the candles."

"Well, ok, if you say so." He mumbled. He closed his eyes and blew out the candles. Everyone clapped when he was done.

"What kind of cake is it?" Connor asked

"Well, when your dad has actually been able to taste normal food, he really enjoyed chocolate, so hopefully like father like son so Lorne made you a chocolate cake." Wes said.

"Ok, well let's try it." Connor said cracking a small smile.

Justine and Fred dished out the cake and ice cream. They all watched anxiously as Connor took his first bite.

"God, this is good." Connor said and everyone laughed.

While they all were enjoying their cake Lorne came over to Angel and Cordy who were off by themselves whispering.

"Hey, you two. Congratulations on the bun in the oven." Cordy and Angel stared at Lorne in shock.

"How… did…you …know?" Angel asked. "We just found out ourselves."

"You two were singing Happy Birthday and believe me the happy baby vibes were just radiating from you guys. I couldn't help but read you."

"Uhh Lorne, we are planning on keeping this to ourselves for awhile. I haven't even been to a doctor yet. We just want to be sure before we tell anyone, especially Connor." Cordy explained.

"Of course my little sweet tarts. Your secret is safe with me." Lorne said as he winked and walked away.

"So how about the gifts for the boy?" Gunn yelled

"Yeah, how about some gifts for the boy." Connor echoed.

"All, right, all right." Angel said as he motioned for the gift giving to begin.

The first one he opened was from Gunn and Justine. They got him a bunch of CD's by different artists.

"Man, this rocks. These are great. Thanks so much."

"We know how much you love music so, this is just something to help you out." Justine said

"Here you go Connor, this is from Wesley and I. We hope that you like it." Fred said as handed Connor a large box.

Connor's eyes lit up as he pulled out a very beautiful antique Swacker Sword.

"Oh my God. She's beautiful."

"We thought that it was about time that you had your own weapon." Wes said

"I love it." He said staring at his sword.

"Here you go Connor." Cordy said as she handed him a box.

He quickly opened it and stared at the piece of paper enclosed.

"What is this?"

"It's your birth certificate, altered of course. If it was your real one, it would say that you are two years old, which you are, but unfortunately you look a little older then two, so I had to finagle it a bit."

"But what do I need this for?"

"Well you can't get that tattoo that you want unless you have this certificate that says you are of legal age."

"Really, I can get a tattoo?" He asked looking at Angel.

"Thank Cordy. She talked me into it."

Connor ran over to Cordy, gave her a huge hug, which lifted her off the ground.

"You are the best. Thank you so much for convincing my dad."

"You're welcome. Here is the cash that you'll need to pay for it." She said as she shoved some money in his hands.

"Ok, my turn now." Angel said. "This is so weird to me. It was only two years ago that you were born, but when I look at you I see a man, not a toddler and that has been very hard for me. Holtz took away your childhood, and Connor I am very sorry for that. I am sorry that I didn't hear your first word, see your first steps, or watch you destroy your birthday cake. I will always regret loosing those memories, but son, we are on the fast track to making new ones. I now am learning to look at you like the man you are, and not the little boy I lost so being that you are a man, here is a gift suitable for a man. Happy Birthday son."

With tears in his eyes, he handed a small box to Connor, who accepted it, with tears in his eyes also. Before he opened his gift he wrapped his arms around his father.

"I love you Dad."

"I love you Connor."

Connor slowly opened the small box and pulled out a key.

"Becoming a man in your eyes, earns me a key to the hotel?" Connor asked sarcastically.

"No, smart ass. It earns you a key to your own truck that is parked outside." Connor's mouth dropped.

"My own truck?"

"Gunn told me that he has been giving you driving lessons in his truck and he said that you really loved driving it and you were doing a great job."

"My own truck?" Connor repeated

"You can also use that birth certificate to get your drivers license."

"My own truck?" He repeated for the third time

"It's parked outside, go check it out." Angel said as he slapped Connor on the back.

Connor ran out the front door of the hotel. The gang quickly followed the excited "man". Gunn Wes and Connor examined the truck from bumper to fender. Fred and Justine watched and laughed. Due to the fact that is was the middle of the day Angel and Cordy stood inside the hotel at the door. They both watched with smiles on their faces. Angel wrapped his arms around her and placed his hand on her belly.

"Angel, people will see." She chastised

"Hon, the placement of my hand is not obvious. It just looks like we are cuddling."

"Ok, if you say so." She mumbled as she leaned against him.

They silently watched Connor and his new truck for a few minutes.

"What are you thinking?" She asked him

"I'm just thinking about how lucky I am."

"And?"

"And what?"

"There's more going on in that brain of yours."

Angel sighed.

"I was thinking about how lucky I am right now and it's killing me because I don't deserve to be this happy."

"Yes you do. The Powers obviously think that you do, or I wouldn't be standing here with your baby in my belly. So, get over yourself and just be happy."

Angel grinned and kissed Cordy.

"I'll work on it."

"You better mister."

Lorne stood behind the happy couple watching them. They were just overflowing with happy vibes. He knew that they were going to make wonderful parents.


	24. Chapter 24

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Angel paced nervously in the room as they waited for the doctor to come in.

"Oh my God, will you sit down already?" Cordy asked

"I can't. I'm just too nervous."

"What the hell do you have to be nervous about? You're not the one who is going to be violated."

"Violated? Did you have a vision? Is there a demon coming?"

"For someone that is over 200 years old you can be dense as hell. Violate is the term that I like to use for the internal exam that I will get today."

"Internal exam?" Angel thought about it for a second. "Oh you mean internal exam." He said when it clicked in his brain what she was talking about.

"You are so stinking cute." She said giggling. "Come over here big boy and give me some sugar."

Angel willingly obliged. They continued kissing until they were interrupted by a discreet cough.

"I'm so sorry." Cordy said when they pulled apart.

"It's ok. I get it all the time. You must be Cordelia. I'm Dr. Webb." She said as she held out her hand for Cordy.

"Nice to meet you. This is my boyfriend and the father Angel." Angel also took the doctor's hand to shake it.

As the doctor began talking to Cordy about pregnancy stuff Angel let his thoughts wander. He was so happy that she was pregnant, but he had some fears that went right along with his happiness. He was scared that he wouldn't be good father. He was scared that his lifestyle would put the baby in danger. He was scared that since he was a vampire and Cordy was half demon, that their child wouldn't be human.

"_Angel, what's wrong?" Cordy asked him after he had been tossing and turning in bed for over an hour._

"_Nothing." _

"_Bullshit. Anytime you are worried about something, I suffer, because you spend all night tossing and turning. You have been in bed for over an hour, and guess who is tossing and turning? That's right bubba, you and now I can't sleep because of it and trust me I will get real pissy if I don' get my beauty sleep, so out with it."_

"_I'm fine." He replied staring at the ceiling. Cordy sighed and rolled over to look at Angel._

"_Sweetie, something is going on. Tell me." _

"_I'm scared." He admitted_

"_Scared of what?" She asked him concerned. Angel never gets scared._

"_The baby."_

"_You're scared of a baby?"_

"_No, I just... What if the baby isn't human?"_

"_When I had my "News Flash- Your Pregnant Vision" I saw myself holding a human baby." _

"_Really?"_

"_Really. What else is going on?"_

"_My life Cordy, It's dangerous. I don't know if I can protect this baby. Look at what happened to Connor. I can't go through that type of loss again."_

"_What happened with Connor was a unique situation. Wes took him to protect you and Connor. Eventually we would have figured out that the prophecy was bullshit and Wes would of returned Connor and we would of all lived happily ever after. We never would of lost him if Justine hadn't of slit his throat. "_

"_I know that but every time I look at him, I see all that I lost. All that we lost. I'm so scared of it happening again." Said a tearful Angel._

_Cody sat up and took Angel's hand._

"_Hey, look at me." He did as he was told. "Baby, you know me. You have seen me fight for things that I believe in. Do you really think that I will let anybody or anything hurt our child? I will fight to the death, preferably their death and not mine, but if necessary I will die to protect our baby. And let's not forget you. I know that you won't let anything happen to the baby. I feel sorry for anything, human or otherwise, that thinks that it can cross you. I have faith in you, in your ability to protect our child and your ability to be an amazing father. Now baby, you need to have faith in yourself."_

"Angel. Angel. ANGEL" Cordy said as she slapped him on the back of the head bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"Listen, we're going to hear the heartbeat." She said as she took his hand.

They both sat anxiously listening. Suddenly the sound of a very steady and very fast heartbeat filled the room. The parents of that heartbeat smiled from ear to ear.

"Cordy, it's a heartbeat. It's our baby's heart and it's beating." Angel said as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I know Angel. It's a beautiful sound." Cordy replied, wiping away her own tears.

--

"Connor, can I come in?" Angel asked as he knocked on his bedroom door.

"Dad, what's up?" Connor asked as he opened the door.

"You in the mood for dinner? Cordy and I are heading out to grab a bite and we thought that you would want to join us."

"Wow. When did public places start serving blood?"

"Very funny. Ok, Cordy wants something to eat and she wants us to go with her."

"Man, she's got you wrapped around her little finger and you love it."

"Damn right kid. So are you coming?"

"You paying?" Angel rolled his eyes.

"Yes Connor. I'm paying."

"Cool. I'm in. I can always eat. I am a growing boy you know. Let me change and I'll be right down."

"He's coming." Angel said as he walked into his office.

"Great I'm starving."

"Cor, you just ate a bag of cookies an hour ago. How could you possibly be hungry?"

"Hello, pregnant woman, growing baby inside me that I must nourish."

Angel laughed and pulled Cordy into his arms and kissed her lovingly.

"God, you are so amazing." He mumbled as he kissed her neck.

"I know." She whispered as he moved his mouth up and down her neck.

"Oh for God's sake, get a room." Connor said from the doorway.

Angel and Cordy pulled apart laughing and the group headed out.

--

"Man, this food is awesome." Connor said as swallowed another bite of his pasta.

"I'm glad you like it." Cordy said as kicked Angel under the table.

"Ahhh." He gasped

"Dad are you ok?" Connor asked

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Look, son, there is something that we need to talk to you about."

"Should I be worried?"

"No, nothing to worry about. It's actually a good thing"

"So what's up?"

"Well Cordy, and I…Cordy is… I'm going to…actually…Connor you're going…"

"Oh for God's sake Angel. I'm pregnant Connor." An exasperated Cordy said.

"Who is the father?"

"I am." Angel said quietly

"Ok, I may only be two years old, but I do know how babies are made. And for you two to make a baby that would mean that you guys would have had to…Oh God ewww."

"Hey." An insulted Cordy said and Connor ignored her.

"Dad I know that you love Cordy more than anything and because of that if you guys would of well you know and you achieved that moment of perfect happiness… Oh God, I can't believe that I thinking about this let alone talking about it… anyways, if that happened then you would of let Angelus out and I would have to run a stake through your heart and since your sitting here without a stake in your heart, then I obviously haven't seen any sign of Angelus which means that you didn't get happy and I am thoroughly confused." Connor stated confidently

"The Powers that Be offered me a potion that allowed me to, well you know, and when I uh…Angelus wouldn't surface."

"What the hell did you just say?" Connor asked as he looked at his father liked he lost his mind.

"Angel, you are pathetic." Cordy said laughing. "Here is the scoop, The PTB gave your dad a potion that allowed us to make love and not run the risk of releasing Angelus."

"Ok, and now you're pregnant." Cordy nodded.

"So what do you think?" Angel asked him nervously

"Well I am a little disappointed that I will no longer be the only anomaly of a vampire who fathered a child. Now I will have to share the title of freak child."

"So…" Angel asked anxiously

"I'm really happy for you guys. I think that it's great."

"Really?"

"Yep, really. Wow. I'm going to be a big brother." Connor said with a huge smile.

"How about a toast." Cordy said as she raised her glass. "To family."

"To family." Said father and son as they all clinked glasses.


	25. Chapter 25

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Cordelia was pacing the lobby of the hotel, hands on her growing belly, anxiously waiting for Angel to return. Because of her pregnancy, she has been on house arrest when it comes to demon or vampire hunting. It frustrated her that she had to sit back and wait while her friends went out and risked their lives, but she knew that she had to protect her baby, so she just passed her visions along to the gang and they went out to fight evil.

She was 5 ½ months pregnant now and so far it was an uneventful pregnancy. Angel and Cordy wanted to find out the sex of the baby, but at the ultrasound the baby didn't want to cooperate, so they are just going to have to wait until their little bundle of joy joined them. The crew of Angel Investigations took the news of Cordy's pregnancy well. They all were extremely happy for Angel and Cordy. Connor has already become the protective big brother, making sure Cordy was eating right, and getting enough rest.

--

"Ok, now you've pissed me off." Angel snapped as he picked himself off of the floor and rushed back to the demon that threw him against the wall.

This Abbennon Demon that the gang was fighting is very powerful. Between him and his minions, they were giving Angel Inc. a run for their money.

Gunn stabbed a minion right between the eyes.

"Hah, take that you sorry son of a bitch." Gunn shouted as the demon fell to the ground. Suddenly Gunn felt himself being lifted off of the ground.

"You killed my sister, now you must die." The demon growled.

"I think not." Wes said as he chopped the demon in half.

"Thanks English." Gunn said as Wes helped him off the ground.

Angel was still fighting The Abbennon and Justine and Fred were in the process of taking down the last minion. Justine was kicking and punching the last minion while Fred was loading a flaming arrow in her bow.

"Fred, anytime now." Justine shouted as she dropkicked the minion, who jumped right back up.

"Ok, one second, ok Justine, I'm ready. Down." Fred said and she shot the arrow right into his neck. He died right away.

Angel staggered backwards and looked at his ripped shirt.

"Now, Dammit, you ruined my favorite shirt." Angel turned vamp, grabbed his sword and went after the demon that pissed him off. 5 minutes later, The Abbennon was without a head and the gang was headed home.

Just after sunset the gang walked into the hotel lobby. Cordy ran over and threw herself into Angel's arms and hugged him tightly.

"Hey there." He said as he hugged her back but she didn't let go. "Come on sweetie, it's ok. I'm ok." He whispered as he peeled her away from him.

"So The Abbennon is dead?" She asked nervously

"As a doornail." Connor said.

"Good." She said.

"Here, let's go sit outside." Angel said as he took her hand and led her outside. He could tell that she was anxious and he wanted to try to calm her down.

"Cor, I'm here, I'm fine." He whispered as he pulled her down on his lap.

"I know. I just worry that's all."

"That's not like you. You're not a worrier."

"I guess it's just my pregnancy hormones. I'm just so glad your home."

"Don't worry. It's not good for the baby." He said as he pulled Cordy down for a kiss.

Suddenly she pulled away.

"Oh my God." She said as she grabbed Angel's hand and placed it on her belly.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Just wait."

Angel waited with his hand on her belly. Suddenly he felt movement.

"Is that…?" Cordy nodded her head.

"Yep, that's our baby kicking his mommy."

Without removing his hand Angel kissed her deeply. She ran her hands through his hair.

"Cordelia Suzanne Chase"

Cordy and Angel quickly pulled apart.

"Mom?"

"Suzanne?" Angel said with a grin.

"Shut the hell up." Cordy said as she pushed herself off of Angel's lap.

"Cordelia, what on earth is going on here?" Audrey Chase asked her daughter

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

"My God, dear, you've gotten fat. What have you been eating? Do they not have gyms in LA?"

Cordy put a protective hand over her belly.

"Mom, I'm not fat. I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant? Oh God, how scandalous. We must figure out to do about this situation, before too many more people find out."

"Are you kidding me mother?"

"Kidding about what?" Audrey asked

"I know what I'm doing about it. We're keeping it."

"And who is we?"

"Me and Angel, the baby's father."

Cordy reached over and took Angel's hand. He held it tightly.

"Angel. Wasn't he the vampire from Sunnydale?"

"That would be correct." Angel said as he held his hand out to Audrey. She ignored it.

"Cordelia, what are you thinking? Are you and idiot? How could you be so damn stupid? Are you suddenly too good for humans?"

When Angel heard Audrey talking to Cordy like that he saw red. Cordy had to hold him back.

"Mom, he is the best man that I have ever known."

"He's not a man, he's a vampire."

"That's true, but he is the vampire that I'm in love with and the father of my child and your grandchild."

"Oh God, I'm going to be a grandmother. What will my friends say?"

"Listen to me Mother, this is not about you anymore. It's about Angel, our child and me so either you accept my child and my man, or get the hell out of my house."

Audrey burst into tears and Cordy rolled her eyes.

"She is such a drama queen." She whispered to Angel

"Go, talk to her." He said and he pushed her towards her mother.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry." Audrey said as she took Cordy in her arms. "Please forgive me."

"It's ok mom but you should apologize to Angel too."

"Now, Cordy, it's not necessary." Cordy shot him a glare

"Of course." Audrey said as she walked over to him and held out her hand.

"I'm sorry. I can tell that you love my little girl." Angel took her hand.

"I adore your little girl."

"All right, you two enough bonding for now. Come on mom, let's meet my friends."

"Hey guys, this is my mom." Cordy said as they walked into the lobby. "Mom, this is Fred."

"Fred huh, were you once a man?"

"Mother!" Fred giggled

"No, mam. My full name is Winifred, but I go by Fred."

"Anyways, this is Wesley, Justine, Gunn." Cordy said as she walked around the room.

"Gunn? What kind of name is that?"

"Gunn is my last name. My first name is Charles."

"Ok, that's better."

"My God, mother, don't you have any manners?" Cordy was appalled by her mother's behavior.

"Oh sweetie, relax." Cordy sighed

"This is Angel's son Connor."

"My god, you have a son? An old son. You don't look old enough to have a child that old."

"Mom, Angel is over 200 years old."

"You're raising him?" She asked Angel

"Yes, I am."

"His mother, where is she?"

"Dead."

"Did you kill her?" Audrey asked Angel

"For, God sakes mother, Angel did not kill Connor's mother. Well actually he did kill her once, but she was brought back to life and she killed herself the second time."

"Oh dear."

"And finally mom, this is Lorne."

"AWWWW." She screamed when she turned around and saw him.

"Mom, it's fine. Lorne is a good demon, he is a reader. He is a great part of the team."

"He's green."

"Yes he is."

"Well pardon me, Lorne, I'm just not used to things like you."

"That's ok Mrs. Chase. You'll get used to it." Lorne replied

"Mom, where's dad?" Cordy asked looking around the lobby. Her mother never travels anywhere without her husband.

Audrey came over and took Cordy in her arms.

"Oh sweetie, Daddy's gone."

"Gone?" Cordy turned pale.

"He was killed last week."


	26. Chapter 26

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Cordy shook her head. She couldn't have heard her mother correctly.

"What did you say?" Cordy asked

"I'm so sorry Cordelia. Your father died." Her mother said

"What…why…how?"

"One, of his kind." Audrey said as she motioned towards Angel.

"A vampire?" Cordy whispered and Audrey nodded her head.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I'm sorry baby girl. I was so shocked by your pregnancy, it just slipped my mind."

"Slipped your mind?" Cordy screamed. "How could something like my father's death slip your mind?"

"Oh sweetie." Audrey said as she tried to pull her daughter to her, but Cordy pushed her away.

"Don't touch me." She shouted as she ran to her room.

Audrey started to go after her, but Angel stopped her.

"Let me go." He said as he ran after her.

He found Cordy curled up on the bed. Angel crawled in beside her and put his arms around her.

"I can't believe that he is gone." She whispered

"I'm so sorry Cor."

"I was such a horrible daughter. I demanded so much from him, and when I didn't get it I was so mean. And when we lost everything I was so angry at him."

"You're not that same teenage girl that you were."

"I'm not angry anymore. I haven't been for a long time. I never told him."

"I'm sure he knew. You talked to him every few weeks."

"But, I never told him. I don't even remember the last time I told him I loved him."

Cordy began to sob. Angel didn't have any words that would make her feel better, so he just held her while she cried herself to sleep.

"Is she ok?" Fred asked Angel when he returned to the lobby.

"No, she's not. She's feeling guilty as hell. She's hurt. She never got to say goodbye."

"Maybe I should sit with her." Audrey said

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"She's my daughter."

"She's sleeping right now. I'll go to her. When she wakes and if she wants to see you I'll come and find you."

"Tell her we're thinking of her." Fred said and Angel nodded as he headed back up to Cordy.

"I love you." Cordy said when Angel opened the door.

"Hey, what are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep. I need you to know that I know that I love you."

"I know that Cor. I love you too."

"So if something ever happens to you, I don't want to be left wondering if you knew how I feel about you."

"Nothing is going to happen."

"You don't know that. I didn't know that my father would die. We don't know if we will ever get tomorrow. We just don't know." She said as she began to cry again.

Again, Angel took her into his arms and held her all night while she slept and cried.

The next day Cordy awoke with a new attitude. She and her mother spent hours in her room talking, crying, and sorting things out, with Angel standing vigil outside of their room, in case she needed him.

"Angel." Cordy yelled from the room.

"You ok?" He asked

"I'm starving."

"What do you want?"

"Pizza from the new place in the Hills."

"Ok, I'll go order it."

"Could you go pick it up? I don't think that I can wait that long."

"Daylight Cor."

"Take Connor with you. He can run in and get it." She said batting her eyes.

"You got it. I'll be back shortly."

Twenty minutes later Angel opened the door to his room holding Cordy's pizza. What he saw caused him to break out into a cold sweat. Audrey was a vampire and she was biting his Cordy. He dropped the pizza and before he could reach Cordy, Audrey turned into a pile of dust.

"I told you I would do anything to protect our baby." Cordy whispered as she dropped her stake and ran to the bathroom to puke.

"Cor, what happened?" Angel asked softly when she came out of the bathroom.

"What does it look like?" She snapped

"Talk to me."

"It's simple really. Mom was a vampire, I killed her."

"Cordelia."

Cordy sighed. She knew that Angel wouldn't let it go. Tears filled her eyes as she recounted to Angel what happened.

"After you left to get my pizza, our conversation turned to Dad's death…"

"_Mom, tell me what happened to dad." _

"_We were on our way home from dinner, waiting at a red light, when two vampires ripped the doors off of our car, and your dad became dinner."_

"_Why didn't they feed on you?" _

"_Who says they didn't dear." Her mother said as she turned into a vampire._

"_Oh my God." Cordy scrambled off of the couch and ran over to her beside table where she kept her, stake, cross and holy water. All of the necessary items needed when you live with a vampire that could turn evil at any time. _

_Cordy spun around and held her cross out in front of her mother. Audrey knocked to out of Cordy's hand._

"_Owww." She yelled as she threw the holy water on Audrey._

"_Arggh. You bitch." She growled as she leapt at Cordy, shoving her against the wall._

"_Mom, please." Cordy begged_

"_My sire told me that the sweetest blood was that of a pregnant woman. There is so much innocence flowing through the blood of the mother that mommy's blood is sweet. I can't wait to taste it for myself."_

"_Don't do this mom, please." _

"_Mom, stop, please." Audrey mocked as she grabbed her daughter's hair, pulled her head to the side and sunk her teeth into Cordy's neck._

"_Ahhhh." Cordy screamed. She clutched the stake that she still had in her hand. She did not want to do it but she knew that she had no choice. She closed her eyes and drove the stake into her mother's cold, dead heart. _

"Cor, I'm so sorry. I should have been here. I should have smelled her." Angel said

"I killed my mother."

"No you didn't. You killed a vampire. You did it to protect our child."

"I killed my mother." She repeated as she started to collapse to the floor. Angel rushed over to catch her

"Baby, you didn't kill her. A vampire did." Angel said as he held her tightly and rubbed her back.

"I have no family anymore."

"That is not true. You have me. You have our child. You have your friends downstairs. We all are your family. We all love you." Angel said softly

Cordy sighed and began to relax against Angel. He gently stood and picked her up and laid her in bed. He covered her up, kissed her head and went to go turn out the lights. She grabbed his hand.

"Don't leave me. I don't want to be alone." Cordy whispered

"You'll never be alone. I'm not going anywhere."

They sat in silence while Angel held Cordy as the silent tears ran down her face. Angel had just dozed off when he heard Cordy gasp.

"What…what's wrong?" He asked her

Cordy was clutching her belly with a look of pain on her face.

"Something…wrong…ahhhh…baby." Cordy gasped


	27. Chapter 27

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Angel rushed into the emergency room carrying Cordy in his arms with the crew of Angel Investigations following behind them.

"Please, we need a doctor." Angel shouted

"Ok, follow me please." A nurse said as she led them to a room.

"My baby." Cordy cried out in pain as Angel set her on the bed.

"I'm going to get a doctor. All of you need to leave the room." The nurse said

"I'm not going anywhere." Angel said

"Are you the father?"

"Yes, I am."

"Ok, you can stay. I'll be right back." She said as she rushed out of the room.

"Angel, I'm scared." Cordy said

"I know. Just hang on. Be strong."

"What seems to be the problem?" The doctor asked when he walked into the room.

"Something's wrong with our baby." Angel said

"Mom, what's going on?" The doctor asked Cordy

"I've been having pain in my stomach Maybe contractions."

"How long have you had the pain?"

"Probably for the past 45 minutes."

"How far along are you?" The doctor asked as he listened to her belly with his stethoscope.

"22 weeks."

"Ok, any recent stressors in your life right now Miss. Chase?"

Cordy looked at Angel as tears filled her eyes.

"She just found out today that her parents were killed in an accident." Angel answered for her.

"Well here is what we are going to do. The baby's heart beat is strong so I'm going to get you something for your pain, order an ultrasound, hook you up to a fetal monitor and run some blood tests."

"Will my baby be ok?"

"We'll know more after the tests come back. So hang tight." The doctor said encouragingly.

When the doctor left the room Cordy burst into tears. Angel rushed over to her.

"Oh my God, I'm so sick of crying. That's all I've done lately. I feel like such a crybaby."

"You have every right to cry. You've been through so much these last few days."

"But I hate it. It makes me feel so weak." She mumbled

"You are definitely not weak. You are the strongest woman that I know." He said as he held her tightly.

Two hours later the doctor was back in the room with Cordy's test results.

"Well Miss. Chase, things look good. All of your blood work is normal. Your ultrasound looked great. The baby is a perfect size and weight for 22 weeks."

"So what about the pain?"

"Has it stopped?" Cordy nodded her head

"I believe that you had Braxton Hicks, which is false labor, probably brought on by the stress of loosing both of your parents. The fetal monitor is showing no active labor pains at this point."

"So what do we do about it?" Angel asked

"I'm going to admit you for the next 48 hours to observe you and the baby, then its bed rest for at least a week, or until you are cleared by your OB/GYN."

After the doctor left and Cordy was moved to a room, Angel called the gang, who had left, to give them an update on her condition and tell them that he would be staying with her. When he hung up the phone he noticed that Cordy had fallen asleep. Angel smiled as he pulled the chair next to her bed, and pulled out the paper and pencil he got from the nurses station and began sketching.

When Cordy awoke a few hours later she found Angel sleeping in the chair next to her bed. She reached over and took the pieces of paper that were lying on his lap. She smiled when looked at them. He had sketched a picture of her and her growing belly. Cordy was shocked the first time she saw a sketch that Angel did. He was really good. He told her that when he was Liam, he started sketching so he could tune his father out. During his reign as Angelus, he didn't do much, but he picked it up again as Angel. It was a way to help him relax when he was stressed out. Cordy had kept all of the sketches that he as done since starting Angel Investigations. He had sketched Cordy many times. He would see her laughing or smiling, memorize the look then sketch it. He even sketched her sleeping naked one night. That was one of his personal favorites. She desperately wanted him to sketch himself, but he refused because he claims, since he doesn't have a reflection, he doesn't remember what he looks like, even though there are pictures of him around that were taken. Cordy refuses to give up and she knows, eventually she will own a sketch of Angel.

"Hey sleepy head." She said when Angel began stirring.

"Hey, where's my…" He started to ask, but he noticed Cordy holding it. "Oh there it is."

"This is beautiful." She whispered

"Well I had a beautiful subject."

They sat in silence, staring at each other until Cordy's eyes filled with tears.

"Cor?"

"I was so scared today Angel. We had talked about something bad happening to the baby after it was born, but not before. I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do."

"Baby, I felt scared and helpless too." He said as he crawled in the bed beside her.

"You know for two people that go out fighting demons, monsters, and vampires every day, it's amazing that one tiny little baby could scare us so much." She said with a small smile.

"We aren't in love with any of those monsters, demons, or vampires. We are in love with our baby and that's why we are so scared."

"I'm in love with too, you know."

"Yeah, I think you may of mentioned it once or twice before. Care to show me how much?" Angel said grinning

Cordy looked into his eyes, gently ran her hand down his face. She leaned toward him and kissed him. She shoved her tongue in his mouth. He gently pushed her back on the bed, never taking his lips away from hers. They haven't a good make out session in weeks, and this was just what the doctor ordered. Cordy finally broke the kiss, because she needed to catch her breath, so Angel just trailed kisses down her neck. His hand found and caressed her breasts through the hospital gown. He wanted to do more to her, but he didn't want to chance a nurse or doctor interrupting them. Cordy quickly got her breath back and her lips found Angel's again. They kissed passionately until unfortunately, they were interrupted, but not by a doctor or nurse.

"Oh dear God, your in a hospital for crying out loud. Can't you two wait until you get home?" Connor said smiling. He loved catching his dad & Cordy in awkward moments.

Angel and Cordy quickly pulled apart, removing his hand from her breast in one swift movement. Angel was bright red, but Cordy just laughed.

"Connor, what are you doing here?" Cordy asked him.

"I came to check on the mother of my future sibling."

"Aww how sweet."

"And I brought Dad some dinner, cause I am assuming that you won't let him break into the blood bank." Connor said as he tossed a thermos full of blood to Angel.

"Bless you child. I'm starving." Angel said as he gulped down his blood.

After Angel finished "eating" the three of them sat around Cordy's room. While Connor and Cordy were watching some reality show on TV, Angel sat and watched his family. The thought still blew his mind. He had a family. A great son who he adored, a wonderful woman, who he loved more than life itself, and another baby on the way.


	28. Chapter 28

The week that Cordy was on bed rest was one of the most unproductive of Angel's extremely long life.

"Angel, I can walk." Cordy said as Angel carried her into their room.

"I'm not taking any chances. The doctor said bed rest so you will rest." He said as he deposited her on their bed.

"I need a pair of PJ's. I need to get out of these clothes."

Angel rummaged through her dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Cordy doesn't actually own any pajamas, she either sleeps in sweats, shorts and a tee shirt or she sleeps naked.

"Will this work?" He asked as he held up his choice.

"No, it's too cold for shorts."

"Ok, how about these?" Angel asked as he held up a pair of red sweat pants.

"No, it doesn't match the shirt. Grab my blue ones."

"Cordy, you'll be sleeping in them. Matching doesn't matter."

"It matters to me. You never know who might walk in here." She said smiling.

After Cordy was changed he handed her a walky talky.

"What's this for?"

"I'll be downstairs working, so if you need anything just talk into it."

"I know how it works."

"I'll have the other one."

"Fine." She sighed

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Cor."

"I just thought that you would say up here with me."

"I've been with you for the last two days. We have a lot of clients and we've gotten behind, so I need to get back to work."

"Oh ok. Well I'll just take a nap then."

"Sleep tight." He said as he tucked her in and quickly kissed her.

Two hours later, Angel's walky talky went off. Cordy was lonely and hungry. Of course she was in the mood for something that they didn't have so Justine and Gunn had to go out and pick up some a mixture of Thai, Mexican, and fast food.

The first day that Cordy was home went pretty smooth. She pretty much just slept. The gang arranged a schedule so someone was always with her. Angel, Gunn and Wes went out to infiltrate a vampire nest. Angel was exhausted when he got back to the hotel. He had big plans of a shower and sleep.

"Hey honey, how was work?" Cordy said happily when Angel walked into their room.

"Same as always. Killed some vamps." He said as he headed for the shower.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Showering."

"Ok, well hurry back."

Twenty minutes later, Angel crawled into bed.

"So ya wanna tell me about it?"

"No not really."

"Oh ok."

"Babe, I am so tired. I slept for shit at the hospital. I just want to sleep."

"That's fine."

Angel leaned over and kissed her goodnight.

"I love you." He said as he closed his eyes.

"Love you too."

Angel had just started to doze when he heard Cordy whisper his name.

"What?" He mumbled, not opening his eyes.

"The baby is kicking. Want to feel it?"

No matter how tired he was he couldn't resist feeling his child move inside of Cordelia. He rolled over and placed his hand on her belly. He grinned when the baby kicked him.

"That is amazing." He whispered

"You should feel it from my perspective." She said smiling as she placed her hand over his.

He quickly fell asleep, never taking his hand off of her belly. Cordy was wide awake and she wanted to talk to him about so many things, but she knew how tired Angel was so she grabbed her book and read until she feel asleep.

The next morning when Angel headed to work, Cordy was still asleep. He was at work for three hours when Connor came from her room to Angel's office.

"Dad, she wants a bath and that's your territory." Angel sighed and picked up his walky talky.

"Cor?"

"Hi."

"I'm in the middle of research right now. Can you wait awhile for a bath?"

"Angel, I smell bad and I never smell. In fact, my stench is making me sick to my stomach. My legs are hairy…"

Angel sighed. He set the walky talky down with Cordy still talking.

"I'll be back." Angel told Wes who was helping him with the research. Wes grinned at him.

"Don't start." Angel sneered as he headed up to help Cordy bathe.

She was still talking into the walky talky when he walked into the room. She looked up in surprise.

"What are you doing here?"

"You wanted a bath didn't you?" Cordy nodded.

Angel went into the bathroom and began to run the bath water.

"Don't forget the bubbles." Angel poured in a cap full of her bubble bath. Ten minutes later he assisted Cordy to the tub.

"It's too cold." She whined.

Angel turned on the hot water.

"It's getting too hot."

"Cordy." Angel warned

"All right. It's fine. Can you get me some clean jammies?"

Five minutes later Cordy hollered for Angel.

"Yes dear?"

"I can't reach my razor." He handed her the razor.

"Shaving cream?" He handed that to her.

"Would you like me shave your legs too?" He asked her sarcastically

"Well actually, now that you mention it." She said grinning as she held up her leg.

"I was kidding."

"I'm not. The doctor did say to rest."

Angel shook his head as he sat on the edge of the tub. He lathered her legs up and gently shaved them. It was turning them both on. When he finished her legs, she handed him a sponge.

"I can't reach my back."

Angel slowly cleaned her back. She closed her eyes as his hands ran up and down her back. Just as he was finished she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the tub with her.

"What are you doing? My clothes." He stuttered.

"I can fix that." She said as she unbuttoned his shirt.

"I don't want to hurt you or the baby."

"Are you kidding, this tub is huge."

"The doctor wants you to rest."

"Oh believe me, I'll be relaxed" She said as she pulled him towards her for a kiss.

Their anxious mouths met. She sucked on his tongue. He bit her lower lip. One hand found her soapy wet breasts. He fondled her nipples. With his other hand he placed two fingers inside of her. She moaned in pleasure. His fingers worked magic. She was screaming in pleasure within minutes.

This is how her week on bed rest continued. Cordy hated just laying around and it showed. She became very finicky. She didn't like any of the DVD's that Angel rented for her. When he returned them for new ones, she decided that she wanted them back. One minute she was in her shorts and she was cold. Once she was in her sweats, she got hot. It was a never-ending battle. The schedule for babysitting Cordy, didn't really work out because she became irritable from just lying in bed and their friends didn't have much patience so whenever Angel wasn't with her, she was bugging him on the walky talky. At night when Angel wanted to sleep, Cordy was wide-awake ready to talk about anything and everything. To say the least Angel didn't get much sleep that week. The only thing that kept him from totally losing his mind was the crazy reasons that Cordy made up to get Angel up to the room that ended up in a hot and heavy make out session. Even though he loved the make out sessions he was glad when the doctor released Cordy back to work.

"Excuse me everyone, I have something to say." Cordy said to her friends during her first day back.

Everyone looked at her, waiting.

"I am sorry that I was such a pain in the ass this past week. I just hated lying in bed, being useless, doing nothing."

"It's ok Cordy. You still had your visions so you weren't completely useless." Fred said smiling and everyone laughed.


	29. Chapter 29

_Cordy held the chubby hand of her son as he walked across the hotel lobby. He had just turned a year old and was about ready to walk on his own._

"_Da" The baby said when his father walked into the room._

"_Come here little man." Angel said as he squatted down to his son's level and held out his arms. _

"_Mama?" He asked as he looked up at his mother_

"_Go ahead. Go to daddy." Her son let go of her hand and slowly wobbled over to his father. _

_As soon as he walked into his father's arms he giggled. He turned and looked at his mother and smiled._

"_Good job baby."_

"_Mama, excuse me." Cordy stared at him. She wasn't sure that she heard him right until he began to repeat the phrase._

"Excuse me Miss?"

Cordy was jogged out of her dream by a voice. She was manning the desk while the gang was out killing something. She must have dozed off while waiting for them to return. As quickly as a seven month pregnant woman could move, she wiped off the drool from the side of her mouth that had accumulated during her nap and headed to the front desk.

"Hi, how can I help you?" Cordy asked the dark hair girl standing at the desk.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you." The client said with an Irish accent

"Oh, please, don't worry about it."

"When are you due?"

"8 more weeks."

"Wow. How exciting for you."

"It is. So what can I do for you hon?"

"I need to find my brother."

"Well that's not exactly what we do, but I could give you the numbers of some agency's that could help you."

"Is this Angel Investigations?"

"Yes it is but we investigate, well other things."

"Like demons?"

"Yes, like demons. Is your brother a demon?"

"Well he is half human and half demon. Just like me. Want to see?"

Cordy nodded and what she saw brought back lots of memories and shook her to the core. She knew exactly who her brother was.

Fifteen minutes later the crew came back from the field all laughing and talking at the same time. Cordy and her guest were waiting in Angel's office. As soon as Cordy saw her friends, she excused herself and went to Angel.

"Hey beautiful." He greeted her and her growing belly with a kiss.

"I need you in the office." Angel raised his eyebrows. "There is someone that you need to meet." Cordy grabbed his hand and led him to the office.

"Angel, this is Ciara Doyle. Ciara this is Angel."

"Nice to meet you Ciara." Angel said as he held out his hand to her.

She took his hand. "You also."

"Irish accent. I was born and raised in Ireland."

"Angel, she is here looking for her brother."

"And you think that we can help you with that?"

"Yes sir, I do. He used to work for you."

"I beg your pardon"

Cordy sighed; Angel could be so dense sometimes.

"Angel, Ciara Doyle, is half human and half demon like her brother who used to work for you."

It took a minute before what Cordy said clicked in his brain. Cordy smiled as she saw the recognition in his eyes.

"Doyle. I didn't know that he had a sister." Angel said softly.

"That doesn't surprise me. He's a private kind of guy. His letters stopped coming a few years ago so when I turned 18 I decided to come here and find him."

"Why did you come here, to us?"

"He told me about his job with Angel Investigations so I thought that I would start with you first."

"You didn't tell her?" Angel asked Cordy

"I wanted to wait for you." Cordy answered " Here hon, sit down."

"Do you know where my brother is?" Angel and Cordy looked at each other, neither one not wanting to answer her question. Finally Cordy took Ciara's hand and began to speak.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. Doyle died a few years ago." Tears began to fill Ciara's eyes.

"What happened?" She asked as the tears fell.

"He was very brave and he died with honor."

"What happened?" Ciara repeated and Angel took over speaking.

"There were a group of demons that had a machine that would kill anything that had human blood flowing in their veins. Once it was turned on, the only way to stop it was to destroy the wires, but to destroy it someone had to get to the machine, be exposed to what was radiating out and die doing it. I was going to do it myself, but your brother took me by surprise, punched me in the face and did it himself. He saved so many lives that day."

"Doyle, also had been given visions from The Powers That Be. Visions of people that were in trouble and needed help. He shared the visions with Angel and the three of us were able to help many people. He believed in helping people so much, that before he died he passed his visions to me so we could continue to fight the good fight." Cordy finished.

"He never told me any of this. He just told me that he had made some wonderful friends, had a great job that he loved, and he had a prospect for love. Do you know who the girl was?"

"It was me." Cordy answered softly

"I can totally see that. You are beautiful. Were you two happy?"

"We never got a chance sweetie. Towards the end, we both were attracted to each other, but we never acted on it because I never got the chance to ask him out and Doyle wasn't sure how I would react to the fact that he was half demon. He never told me and I never knew until the end."

"How would you have reacted?"

"I would have been fine with it."

"So his letters weren't all bull. He was really happy at the end?'

"He was." Cordy responded softly

"Well, thank you so much for all of the information. I have kept you long enough. It was a pleasure meeting you." Ciara said

"What about your parents?" Angel asked

"They are both gone."

"Do you have any family?"

"No, it's just me now. That's why I was hoping to find Allan."

"What are your plans now?" He asked

"I guess I'll go back home when I get enough money together."

"You don't have any money?"

"I have some. My plan was to stay with Allan and never return because I have nothing in Ireland left for me there."

Angel and Cordy looked at each other. Without speaking they both knew what they had to do. For their friend Doyle they had to care for his sister.

"You know, we have this big hotel here and lots of room. We would like for you to stay here with us." Cordy said.

Ciara looked at Angel. He smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

"I think that it's what Doyle would have wanted." He said to her.

"I don't want any charity." She said proudly.

"That's understandable. I actually have a position for a receptionist open right now, because my current one has been slacking on the job." Angel said as he winked at Cordy.

"Hey, I'm not slacking."

"I've busted you sleeping many times dear." Cordy crossed her arms across her chest. "Ciara, your room is one of the job benefits and I will pay you. Does that work for you?"

She nodded her head with tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much."

"No, thank you. Believe me you are helping us out. It doesn't look good for the receptionist to be sleeping on the job." Cordy stuck her tongue out at Angel.

"Come on, let's go meet your co-workers and get you settled."

"What if they don't like me?" She asked panicked

"Trust me, if they like Mr. Brooding here, they will definitely like you." Cordy said as she took Ciara's hand and led her to the lobby for introductions.

After the introductions were made Justine and Fred took Ciara upstairs to choose a room. Angel and Cordy stood in his office watching Connor. From the moment that Connor and Ciara were introduced they haven't taken his off of each other.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Cordy asked Angel smiling.

"My son's first crush?"

"I think that the crush may be mutual."

"God help me." He said smiling.


	30. Chapter 30

Cordy smiled and sighed as Angel kissed her gigantic eight-month pregnant belly. The kisses were soft and feather like. It made her giggle every time his eyelashes touched her.

"Hey how about some kisses for mommy?"

"Do I have to?" Angel whined

"Yes you have to." Angel crawled up to the top of the bed, laid down and faced Cordy.

"Well if you insist." He leaned over, took her face in his hands, kissed her forehead, her nose and finally her lips. The kiss was slow and hesitant but filled with love. Their hands were running through each other's hair. Their tongues slowly teased each other.

"You know, kissing you never gets old." Cordy said when they finally broke apart.

"Hmmmm" He said as his fingers ran up and down her breast.

"Glad it was good for you too."

"God, your boobs have gotten so big." Cordy hit him upside the head. "Owww."

"I'm pregnant you moron, that tends to happen."

"I know, but damn." Cordy kissed him on the lips.

"This baby will be here soon you know."

"I know."

"We haven't talked about names for he or she yet."

"I think that we are having a boy." Angel said smugly

"What makes you say that?"

"I've had dreams that we've had a boy."

"Really, so have I."

"Do you have any ideas for a name?"

"I would like to name him James after my father." Cordy said softly

"I think that sounds perfect."

"What about if it's a girl?"

"I was thinking that maybe we could name her after my sister."

"I also think that sounds perfect." The couple smiled at each other.

Angel looked around their room and couldn't have been happier as he glanced at all of the recent acquisitions. They now had a crib, changing table, bassinet, and dresser among other baby items.

"I am so excited." Cordy said

"Me too." Angel said as he kissed her again. Suddenly there was a knock on their bedroom door. Angel groaned and quickly pulled the blankets over Cordy.

"Come in." Angel yelled

"Are you two ever going to get out of bed?" Connor asked as he strolled in.

"It's Sunday." Angel said

"Hadn't planned on it." Cordy replied

"Well sorry to ruin your plans, but we have a client coming in an hour. We need you guys."

"Come on, you guys can handle it on your own." Angel said.

"Nope, they asked for you guys specifically. See you in an hour." Connor said as he left the room.

An hour later when Cordy and Angel got to the lobby it was empty.

"What the hell?" Angel asked as he looked around the room.

"SURPRISE" Yelled Wes, Gunn, Justine, Fred, Lorne, Ciara and Connor from behind the desk.

"Happy baby shower." Fred said as she came over and hugged Cordy and Angel.

"Oh my God, you guys shouldn't have." Cordy said crying.

"Of course we should have. We are all family and we love you." Lorne said

They started eating right away because Cordy was starving. The gang ordered Chinese food. It was an all time favorite. After the food was gone the happy parents began opening their gifts.

The first gift they picked up was from Wes. Cordy ripped open the paper like a child at Christmas time. It was a baby stroller with turtles on it.

"Oh Wes, It's perfect. I love it." Cordy cried.

The next gift was from Fred. Cordy handed it to Angel to open. He took his time opening it, which drove Cordy nuts so she grabbed it out of his hands.

"Hey."

"Too slow." She said as she ripped the remaining paper off. It was a car seat that matched the stroller that Wes got them.

"Look, honey. It matches."

"Uh huh. I see that. Thanks Fred. It's great." Angel said

Cordelia opened the rest of the gifts. Gunn got them a highchair. Justine got them a vibrating bouncy chair. Lorne got the baby its first radio and a CD of lullabies sung by Lorne himself. Ciara got them a diaper bag full of the necessary baby items and a bathtub and Connor got his sibling a swing. Besides all of the big gifts they got lots of clothes and diapers.

"You guys this was great. Thanks so much." Angel said.

"This is wonderful." Cordy said as she hugged everyone and cried.

"How about cake?" Gunn asked

"Yummy. What flavor?"

"Chocolate of course." Connor said.

After the cake was all gone Wes cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Fred stood next to him and took his hand.

"We have an announcement." Wes said

"We're getting married." Fred blurted out.

Everyone cheered and gave their congratulations.

"So when's the wedding?" Justine asked

"We haven't set a date yet. We just got engaged last night." Wes said

"I love weddings. Fred if you need help planning let me know." Cordy said

"Trust me, I will need help." Fred said as she hugged Cordy.

Immediately the girls began wedding talk. The guys wisely left them alone.

"Dad, got a minute?" Connor asked

"Sure, what's up?"

"In private." Connor said as he headed to his father's office.

"So?" Angel asked as the door shut.

"Dad, I… uhh… well."

"Connor, what is it?"

"I uh, was thinking about asking Ciara out on a date."

"Well good for you. What's the problem?"

"I don't know how." Angel laughed and Connor glared at him.

"Sorry."

"I'm serious Dad. How did Liam ask out a girl the first time?"

"Those were different times. Liam was a drunk whose ultimate goal was to deify his father. He didn't date. He just had slept around."

"Great, that's a lot of help."

"Listen son, it's simple really. Either during a conversation, before one starts or maybe when you are saying goodnight, you just ask her. "Ciara, I was wondering if you would like to go out with me tomorrow night." Just make sure that you have specific plans and a day in mind. Don't be vague."

"Ok, I can do that. What should we do? Dinner, movie what?"

"You know her better than I do. You should know what she likes to do."

"You're right. I'm just so nervous. I really want her to say yes."

"I think that she will."

"Do you like her dad?" Connor asked. For some unknown reason to him it was important that his father approved.

"I do son."

Later that night, as Cordy and Angel were lying in bed, he recounted his conversation with Connor.

"That is so cute." Cordy said giggling

"I can't believe that he came to me for advice."

"Of course he would come to you. You're his father, he loves you and he values your opinions." Angel pulled Cordy close to him and wrapped his arms around her.

"You know Fred asked me to be her maid of honor." Cordy said after a moment of silence.

"Wes asked me to be his best man."

"Looks like we are going to walk down the aisle together."

"Huh?"

"Don't panic. Not as bride and groom as best man and maid of honor."

"I'm not panicking if I could, I would marry you, that is, if you wanted to."

"Why can't you?"

"I'm dead remember."

"I know that, but being dead hasn't stopped you from doing much else."

"Do you want to get married?"

"I haven't really thought about it. I happy with the way things are. Why change it?"

"I'm happy too. But your right, I have done lots of thing as a dead guy so there is no reason why I couldn't marry you, so if you ever decide that you want to change things up, I am your man." He said as he kissed her gently.


	31. Chapter 31

Angel smiled as he stared at a sleeping Cordelia. She looked so peaceful with her hands lying on her growing belly. They were up late the night before putting the last minute touches on the nursery. He of course didn't have any say in how it was decorated. Because of the turtle car seat and stroller, Cordy had decided that the nursery should also be done in turtles. Angel, Wes, Gunn and Connor painted the room a pale green, and hung up a border of turtles. The crib had sheets and blankets with turtles on them and the mobile also had turtles. The girls had washed, folded and put away all of the baby's clothes. They were all ready for baby Angel to make its appearance. In less than two weeks, Angel and Cordy's lives would forever be changed, and they both couldn't be happier.

"Ummph." Cordy mumbled as Angel gently kissed her.

"Hey, I'm going to work. You go ahead and keep on sleeping." He whispered

"K"

"I love you."

"Love you." Within seconds she was snoring.

When Angel got downstairs, everyone was in research mode. They had received word on another demon that needed to be destroyed. A few hours later, they had as much information, as they were going to get, which wasn't a lot. Angel headed up to check on Cordy and let her know that he was leaving. He found her in the bathtub, struggling to shave her legs.

"Help, please. I can't see my legs over this baby." Angel grinned. For the past few months, he has been shaving her legs for her. He actually quite enjoyed it.

"Ok, but I have to be quick. We are leaving in fifteen minutes." After her legs were shaved, he helped her out of the tub, and assisted in drying her off. Sadly, Angel knew that it could go no farther because there was a demon to be killed. He kissed her passionately.

"We'll finish this when I return."

"I'm counting on it."

Twenty minutes later Cordy was dressed and headed down to the lobby to check on Ciara. Her and Ciara have grown close over the past month and a half. Ciara's parents died around the same time as Doyle did, so she ended in the foster system in Ireland. Cordy took it upon herself to look after her. She knew that is what Doyle would have wanted. They have become like sisters. Cordy gave her advice regarding men, Connor in particular. She even helped her get ready for their first date, then stood back proudly as the handsome couple left. She wanted to spend some quality time with Ciara before the baby came, so she planned to take her to lunch today.

"Ciara." Cordy called to the empty lobby. She went around the desk and screamed.

"Oh God, Ciara." Ciara and Lorne were laying hog tied and unconscious on the floor. Cordy leaned down to check their pulses. Thankfully, they still had one. Suddenly, something or someone grabbed her from behind. She elbowed it in the gut and ran to the desk. She quickly grabbed a stake. She had no idea if it was a vampire or not, but she didn't have time to get to the weapons cabinet, so she had to use whatever she could and it did have a pointy end.

Her hair was grabbed. She whirled around and stuck the spike through the heart of her attacker. He turned to dust. Cordy felt a bit more confident. She could handle vamps. But not the ten that surrounded her. She fought like hell. She managed to stake two more, but finally, she couldn't handle anymore and they overtook her. She was knocked unconscious and taken out of the hotel.

--

The gang drove around the underground parking deck for the third time.

"Where the hell is it?" Gunn asked

"What did the informant say?" Connor asked

"He said that it was in the basement level." Wes replied

"It's not there." Fred said.

"Your informant said that there was lots of carnage right?" Gunn asked and Wesley nodded.

"Then where is it?" Justine asked

"We've been set up." Angel said softly

"But why?" Fred asked

"Someone wanted us out of the hotel." Wes said

"But why?" Connor asked

"Cordy." Angel said as he gunned the car out of the garage and headed towards the hotel. Angel couldn't drive fast enough. He ran multiple red lights and almost killed them on a few occasions. Finally, they pulled to a screeching stop in front of the hotel. Angel threw his coat over his head, and rushed into the lobby.

"Cordelia." He screamed. He was met with moaning from behind the desk. Everyone ran back there and found Lorne and Ciara and three piles of vampire dust.

"Ciara." Connor gasped and ran to her.

"Ciara, Lorne, where's Cordy?" Angel asked them and neither of them had an answer for him. Angel ran upstairs as fast as he could, yelling her name the whole way. He never got a response. He stormed into their room and then the nursery. She was nowhere to be found. He ran back down to the lobby.

"Did you find her?" Gunn shook his head. "Has anyone tried to call her cell?'

"Doing it right now, but there is no answer." Fred answered.

Angel stormed into his office. He felt as if he was losing his mind. Frustrated and angry he slammed his fist against the wall then threw everything off of his desk and tossed the bookcase to the floor. He then walked back into the lobby and starting barking orders.

"Wes, Fred, check all the prophecies, that we know of. See if there is anything about this baby or Cordy in them" Fred and Wes took off.

"Lorne, are you ok?"

"Yeah, just a headache. Nothing a sea breeze can't cure."

"Great, I need you to get in touch with your demon connections. Find out if anyone has heard anything. Gunn and Justine, you go with him, in case he needs muscle." They all took off.

"Ciara, are you ok?" Angel asked gently and she nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Connor, take care of her and find out what she knows."

"Dad, what are you going to do?" Connor asked as he helped Ciara to her feet.

"I'm going to visit an old friend." He said as he headed to the sewers.

--

Cordy felt drowsy and confused. She looked around the dark room.

_What the hell happened? Where the hell am I? What the hell is going on? _She thought. Within seconds, it all came rushing back. She was attacked and kidnapped by vamps.

_What could they want?_ She felt the baby kick. _Oh, God, they want my baby. No way in hell._ She heard voices coming down the hall. She quickly closed her eyes.

"Did you start the meds yet?"

"Done before we left the hotel."

"So the labor should be starting soon?"

"Yes sir."

"Very soon, we will have the vampire with a soul's offspring. We can raise him in our ways, and if it's anything like it's father, I can just imagine the destruction that will occur. And the mother is a seer. If the child inherits the gift, we will rule the world. Come on, let's go check on mommy."

Cordy lay perfectly still until she felt a gentle slap on her face.

"Wakey,wakey." Cordy groaned.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Your child. Isn't it obvious?'

"No way in hell are you getting my baby."

"Sorry, it's a done deal."

"Fuck you." Cordy spat.

"Any minute now, you're contractions will begin. No one has any idea where you are so no one will be here to rescue you. This room is sound proof, so scream all you want; in fact we plan on that during your labor. If it makes you feel any better, look out the window, enjoy the view. They will never break. We have provided you with a comfortable bed, so please make yourself at home. If you need anything, please let me know."

Suddenly a very pain shot through her belly. "AWWWWW."

"There there, just relax."

"I know you." Cordy said as she looked at her captor and he just smiled.

--

Angel stormed into Lilah Morgan's office. She jumped out of her chair and tried to run, but she wasn't fast enough. Angel had her around the neck.

"Where the hell is she?" He growled

"Who?" Lilah sputtered.

"Cordelia. Where is she?"

"Don't know…"

"Don't lie to me." He said as he squeezed her neck tighter.

"Can't…breathe…" Angel released his grip slightly

"Cordy, where the hell is she?"

"I don't know. We don't have her."

"This has Wolfram & Hart written all over it. Now, I will ask you one more time. Where is Cordy?"

"For the last time, we don't have her. If we took her, I wouldn't be standing here being interrogated by you. I would be in hiding or with her. The firm has taken your last threat very seriously and we have made no move against you or your family or friends." Angel believed her. He could smell the fear radiating from her. Before he left he shoved her against the wall.

"What was that for?" Lilah gasped.

"To make sure you don't forget my threat."


	32. Chapter 32

"You don't know me pet." Cordy's captor said with a smirk.

"Yes, I do. I've seen your sketch. Angel told me about you."

"Aw yes, Angelus."

"His name is Angel."

"He took away my prodigy. Now, I'm taking his."

"Why this baby? He does have another child. You will have to wait years until this baby is grown. Why not an already grown child of Angel's?"

_Forgive me Connor, I'm trying to stall. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you._ Cordy thought

"I've thought about, young Connor, but I'm over 600 years old, and not as strong as I used to be. I never would be able to hold him against his will Yes, I do know that I will have to raise this child, but the child will be raised evil."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh." Another pain shot through her belly.

"Just relax; it will be much easier if you do."

"You won't touch my baby."

"I really don't think that you have much choice. Call if you need anything. We'll be back to check your progress shortly."

Once Cordy was alone, she checked out her accommodations. There was nothing in there but a bed. She climbed on top of it and checked out the window. It was made out of something hard like glass. She took a shoe off and banged it against the window. Nothing happened. Not a crack or even a dent.

_Ok, think, Cor, think. You can't let that piece of shit touch your child. Maybe I can stab him with my shoe. He said he was weak. Dammit, today of all days, I wore flats. Damn swollen feet. Ok, plan B. I got nothing._

"God Dammit." She screamed into the empty room. Suddenly plan B, jumped into her head. Cordy gasped in pain as another contraction came. She had to hurry.

_Ok, I'm half demon. I have powers. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but I have them. All right Cor it's now or never. Just, relax and focus. Close your eyes. Focus. Focus on the man that can save you. Focus on Angel._

_--_

Angel stormed back into hotel. His crew was all there.

"Well, anything? Please tell me you have found something." The group didn't respond. "WELL?"

"There was nothing in any of the prophecies about Cordy or the baby." Wes said

"My contacts haven't heard bupkus about an attack or possible kidnapping." Lorne said

"Did you use the power of persuasion?"

"Oh, yeah, they were definitely persuaded to talk." Gunn said

Angel walked over to Ciara who was lying in Connor's arms with an ice pack on her head. He knew that he had to be gentle with her. She was already terrified and he didn't want to make it worse. He sat next to her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"My head hurts."

"Do you remember anything?" Tears filled her eyes.

"I'm sorry I don't know what happened. I was typing one second, and the next thing I knew was my head felt like it was going to explode, and then I woke up on the floor. I should have done something." Connor kissed the top of her head.

"Ciara, there was nothing that you could of done. It's not your fault."

"Obviously, Wolfram & Hart had nothing to do with this huh?" Connor asked

Angel stared at his son.

"How did you know that's where I was?"

"I know you Dad."

"You're right. They're clean this time."

"So what do we do now?" Justine asked

"I have no idea. I need to think." Angel said as he began to pace the lobby. He has never felt as helpless as he felt right then. He promised Cordy that he would protect her and the baby and he failed. He couldn't lose either of them. Suddenly, he got a severe pain in his head. It brought him to his knees.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh God." He screamed as he held his head in his head. His friends rushed over to him. Angel saw Cordy.

_**Angel, I hope this works. We need you. He gave me medication and my labor has started. I am in a basement of some sort. I don't know where I'm at. I can hear a train, not so far in the distance. It runs about every ten to twelve minutes. I'm looking out the window to show you what I am looking at. Lots of warehouses and factories. I can smell something like steel burning. I can make out partial letters from the building to my left. MAR. Angel, my captor, he is older and uglier then you said. It's the vampire who sired Darla. He told me that you took his prodigy away from him, so now he will steal yours. Our baby. Please Angel…**_

Cordy's water broke. She was pulled out of her trance. She fell onto the bed and grabbed her belly. She had a good feeling that Angel got her vision.

"Don't worry baby. Daddy's coming." She whispered as she began to silently cry. "Daddy's coming."

--

"Angel, are you ok?" Fred asked as he slowly sat up.

"Paper. Pencil." Angel gasped. He felt like he was going to puke.

"What happened?" Gunn asked

"Vision, Cordy sent me a vision."

"Cordy sent you a vision?" Wesley asked

"Yes. Where is my paper and pencil?" He snapped, still sitting on the floor. Justine handed him what her requested.

"What are you doing?" Connor asked.

"I saw where she is. I need you guys to see it." Angel quickly sketched what Cordy showed him in his vision.

"This is where she is." He passed the paper around. "She can smell steel burning and there is a train that runs every ten to twelve minutes. We need to hurry. Her contractions have started."

"Does she know who has her?"

"A very old and weak vampire. He sired Darla."

"My mom?" Angel nodded.

"He calls himself The Master. He may be old and weak, but he is powerful. He has so many followers who will do anything that he demands. It's his followers that worry me. They will be strong. He likes to live underground. So wherever she is, there has to be sewer access and a basement."

They all began talking at once passing Angel's sketch around. Wes and Fred were on the computer looking at maps, trying to narrow down Cordy's location. After an hour they all were becoming increasingly frustrated. They still had not discovered her location. It was narrowed down to about ten places, but it was nine to many.

"I know where she is." Justine shouted

"Where is she?" Angel asked

"I remember this when I was searching for my sister's killer. These warehouses, they hold lots of nests. There was a big one that had lots of vamps, but I was never able to infiltrate it. There is a train that is always running and the letters MAR stand for Markson factory. This has got to be it."

"I'll bet the big nest is that of The Master." Wesley said

"OK, let's go stake some vamps." Gunn said

"And get Cordy." Fred said.

"Angel, please, bring Cordy back." Ciara begged.

"I plan on it."

--

Cordy was lying in the bed, in extreme pain. Her contractions were coming more frequently. At first they had been every fifteen minutes, but within the last hour, they were now, every five minutes apart.

"Oh God." She gasped between clenched teeth as she rode out her next contraction.

"There there, it won't be long now."

"Go to hell."

"Come now. Let's examine you and see how much you have progressed." The vampire that was in charge of her delivery grabbed one of her legs, to position it for the exam. With what little strength that she had left, she kicked him in the face.

They suddenly heard screams and fighting. The vampire doctor fled the room.

"Angel, go find Cordy." Wes yelled as he staked a vamp.

"Connor, come with me." Angel yelled as they headed towards the stairs that would lead them to the basement, staking vampires left and right.

"OK, right or left?" Connor asked once they reached the bottom. Before Angel could answer, they heard a scream come from the right.

"The right." Father and son said at the same time.

"Cordy" Angel shouted.

_Oh, God, is the pain causing me to hallucinate? _She thought as she heard Angel calling her name.

"Cor, where are you." _He's here._

"ANGEL." She screamed. The door to her room was kicked off its hinges. Angel rushed over to her.

"You got my message." She said, her voice full of relief.

"I got your message. We'll talk about it later."

"Dad." Connor screamed as The Master came into the room.

"Angelus. What a pleasant surprise." Angel grabbed the old goat, and shoved him against the wall.

"It shouldn't have been a surprise. You should have known that I would come after her."

"It's been a long time."

"Not long enough."

"I heard, you killed Darla."

"The first time I did."

"How is that soul of yours?"

"Working well for me. Thanks for asking."

"Excuse, me, Could we save the pleasantries for another time. In labor over here."

"Sorry, to cut the reunion short." Angel said smiling as he shoved a stake through his heart.

"AWWWWWWWW." She screamed. Angel scooped Cordy up in his arms and carried her to safety.


	33. Chapter 33

"Epidural. NOW." Cordy gasped. Her contractions were non-stop by the time that they arrived at the hospital.

"Miss. Chase, we can't administer the epidural until we check your progress."

"Then do it already." She snapped.

"As soon as the doctor comes in, he will do it."

"GO GET HIM." The nurse ran out of the room.

"Cordy, being mean and demanding isn't going to get anything done quicker." Angel said and Cordy whipped her head around and gave him her death glare.

"Don't give me that shit. Let me push a watermelon out of your damn nose and see how happy you are."

"I just meant…"

"Finally." Cordy said as the doctor walked into the room.

"How long have you been in labor?" The doctor asked as he began his exam.

"I don't know. I left my watch at home." Angel opened his mouth but quickly decided to close it.

"Cordelia, unfortunately, we won't be able to give you an epidural. You're too far into your labor."

"WHAT?"

"How far is far exactly?" Angel nervously asked

"You are ten centimeters dilated. It's time to push."

"Well give me the damn epidural then I'll push."

"The baby will be born before it takes effect."

"No way in hell am I pushing out this baby with no meds."

"Don't worry, we got, something for you." The nurse injected her IV with Demerol and she then led Angel out of the room to change into scrubs. When he returned, Cordy didn't look much better. He gently kissed her sweaty forehead.

"You hanging in there?" She shook her head with tears in her eyes. Gone was the angry Cordy. She was now just miserable and scared.

"It hurts so much. The meds aren't working." The tears began to fall.

"Can she have more medication?" Angel asked. He hated to see her like this. He wished he could take away her pain.

"She has had all that she can have now." The nurse answered.

"Cordelia, it's time to start pushing." Angel moved to her right side and held her leg back. There was a nurse on her left side doing the same.

"OK, now." Cordy grunted and pushed, the nurse on the left gently counting it through.

"Cordelia, if you want this baby to come out anytime soon, you're going to have to push harder." The doctor said. "Now, again."

Cordy collapsed against the bed.

"Angel, I can't do this. It hurts too much."

"Yes you can." He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "This is nothing compared to those pain in the ass visions that you got, and believe me, I know how painful they were." He saw a slight smile play at her lips. "So come on, let's meet our child."

Cordy sat back up with a newfound determination and began to push.

"The head is out." The doctor explained as soon as Cordy quit screaming. "Don't push yet." The doctor suctioned the baby's nose and mouth and it let out a blood curdling scream. The tears were falling from its parent's eyes.

"Hang in there Cordelia, the next one is the worst and then the rest is a piece of cake. Push." Angel was holding her and her leg up. She clenched her teeth and pushed as hard as she could.

"OH…MY…GOD…AWWWWWWW." She screamed as the shoulders came out. She hadn't even had a chance to recover before the doctor told her to push one more time. She wearily complied. The rest of the baby slid out easily. He held up a screaming, squirming baby for the parents to see.

"Congratulations. It's a girl." Angel and Cordy stared at each other. They were both convinced that they were having a boy. They broke out into huge smiles. "Come on Dad. Cut the cord." He was handed a pair of scissors. He had a look of fear on his face.

"I don't want to hurt her."

"She won't feel a thing." Angel cut the cord, and the nurse took the baby to clean her up. Angel followed. He was mesmerized by his daughter. She had tons of dark black hair and from what he could tell she had dark brown eyes. She looked like her mother. She was beautiful. Once, she was cleaned she was wrapped in a pink blanket and handed to her father. Angel gazed down at his daughters face. She had quit crying and was now sleeping. She had a rough day and was exhausted.

"Excuse, I did all of the work so why is it that you are the one holding her?" Angel grinned and took his daughter over to her mother and placed her in Cordy's arms.

"Hello Catherine." She whispered to her daughter. Angel cleared his throat. "Hello Catherine Suzanne."

"Thank you." He said with a smirk. Once the baby's first name was determined, they had decided that they baby would have their middle name corresponding with the parent of the same sex. Cordy hates her middle name, but Angel refused to budge.

"You are the most amazing woman ever."

"I know." Angel kissed the mother of his daughter passionately.

"They are moving us to a regular room. Why don't you go tell them about the newest member of our family?"

"I don't want to leave you."

"We'll be fine. Now go and hurry back." Angel leaned down and kissed Catherine on the head. "Daddy will be right back sweetie."

--

The labor and delivery room was full of employees from Angel Investigations. Fred, Wes, Gunn, and Justine were playing Euchre. Ciara and Lorne were snoozing in the chairs and Connor was pacing back and forth.

Suddenly the door opened and Angel stepped out. Connor ran up to him.

"Son, you have a sister." Connor threw his arms around his father. The gang saw Angel come out and they all ran over to him.

"Well?"

"Is Cordy ok?"

"Is the baby ok?"

"What is it?"

"What color hair?"

"How much did it weigh?"

All of these questions were asked at the same time. He held up his hands to get their attention.

"We have a girl. Cordy is fine and so is Catherine. She weighs 6lbs 10oz 19 inches long and has head of black hair. She looks just like her mother." Angel said proudly.

The girls began squealing, and hugging each other. The guys displayed a bit more restraint with manly handshakes and pats on the back. Angel led them to Cordy's new room where the ohhhed and aahhed over Catherine. When the nurse tried to kick them out of the room, because only family was allowed to visit, Cordy gave her a piece of her mind and informed her that this was her family. The nurse, knowing that she wasn't going to win this battle, relented and let them stay.

Catherine was placed into Connor's arms. Tears fell from his eyes.

"Hey Catherine. I'm your big brother. I'm promise that I will be the best brother ever. I will be here for you always. I'm going to spoil you rotten and I will protect you and beat up any guy that has the nerve to break your heart." Angel and Cordy watched this with tears in their eyes.

A few hours later after Catherine had been passed around, the gang left with the promise of returning the next day. They were finally alone but they didn't get the chance to enjoy the quiet because Catherine started to cry.

"What's wrong? Does she miss all the attention?"

"I think she's hungry." Cordy said as she pulled her breast out of her hospital gown and began to nurse her. When she was done Cordy handed Catherine to her father for a burp. Angel held her up to him and began to pat her back. She quickly burped and promptly fell back asleep. He put her back in her bassinet and called for the nurse to take her to the nursery. After the baby was gone, Angel crawled into bed with Cordy.

"Catherine is beautiful." Cordy mumbled closing her eyes. She was exhausted

"She looks just like her mother." Cordy grinned

"I never realized how incomplete my life was until now."

Angel gently kissed her. "I love you, but I may have to reconsider it if you ever send me another vision."

Cordy's eyes flew open. "Was it that bad?"

"Baby, I have no idea how you handled it as long as you did. It knocked me on my ass."

"I wish that I could have seen it." She said giggling.

"Yeah, I bet you would have."

"But you have to admit, it was brilliant."

"Yes, brilliant."

"I love you." She said as she fell asleep.

Angel crawled out of the bed, careful not to disturb Cordy, got out his sketch book that Connor had brought him and he sketched a portrait of his daughter and her mother.


	34. Chapter 34

Six weeks later life at Angel investigations was moving forward as normal with the newest member of the team getting lavished in attention. Catherine was such a good baby. She was very mellow and laid back. She only cried when she was hungry and tired. Right now she was in the lobby sleeping in her swing oblivious to the sound of her parents screaming at each other from their room.

"Shouldn't we be going?" Gunn asked

"Not without Angel. We need him."

"This could go on forever." Connor said

"Well we might as will get comfy." Justine said

--

"You're not going." Angel yelled

"Yes I am." Cordy screamed back at him.

"You're a parent now. You have to think about Catherine."

"Don't you dare say that I'm not thinking of her. You've been a father for over two years and that's never stopped you from fighting."

"It's different." Cordy snorted.

"Of course it's different when it concerns you."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You have one set of rules for you and one set for everyone else."

"Well of course I do. I'm different than everyone else."

"That is such crap and you know it."

"Look Cor, I have a demon to kill and I'm leaving."

"And I'm going with you."

"No your not."

"I'm either going with you today or the next vision that I get, I won't tell you about it and I'll handle it myself."

"You wouldn't dare."

"You know me and you know that I would dare."

"God Dammit, why are you so stubborn?"

"I have been sitting around for months, I'm tired of feeling useless."

"It's always all about you isn't it?"

"You know this is the second time that you have insinuated that I don't care about Catherine. I really don't appreciate it."

"That's not what I'm saying. What I'm-"

"Go to hell."

"Been there. Done that."

"Been there. Done that." Cordy mocked

"Why does everyone always tell me to go to hell when they know that I've already been there. I just don't get it."

"Because dumbass, it's a way that we humans express ourselves when we are pissed off. 99.9% of the time when we say that the person on the receiving end hasn't already been there."

"Grow up Cordelia."

"Yeah, so I can be just as miserable as you."

"This conversation is over."

"Why because you say it is?"

"Yeah, because I say so." Angel shouted as he walked out and slammed the door shut behind him. Cordy opened the door.

"Kiss my ass." She screamed at his back.

"Ready?" Angel asked as he got down to the lobby and walked over to his daughter.

"Yeah, whenever you are." Gunn said

Angel kissed his sleeping daughter on the head. She sighed. "Love you my little chipmunk."

"Are we ready?" Wesley asked

"Let's go." Angel said

Cordy waited until he was gone before she came downstairs.

"Are you all right?" Ciara asked her

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Ok, cause I heard you and Angel yelling at each other."

"Oh, that's what we do. It's no big deal. We'll be fine." Cordy said as she picked Catherine up out of her swing. "How is momma's big girl?"

"She's been fine."

"I'm going to take her upstairs and feed her. Thanks for keeping an eye on her."

--

Angel opened the door to his bedroom expecting Cordy to start yelling, but he was pleasantly surprised. Cordy and Catherine were sleeping on the bed. He picked Catherine up and put her in her crib, and then he crawled into the bed next to Cordy and kissed her gently. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Catherine?"

"I put her in her crib. I'm sorry baby. I said a lot of stupid things."

"I'm sorry too. I said just as many stupid things."

"Why is it so important to you to fight?"

"I'm tired of feeling useless."

"You're not useless."

"I know that I have to be a mother first and demon fighter second. But what kind of mother am I if I just sit back and let everyone do the hard work?"

"A mother that loves her daughter."

"What about if I get out of fighting practice, something attacks us, you're not here and I can't protect Catherine."

"That's what scares you the most isn't it?" Cordy nodded. "I get that. I really do. We'll work something out so that you can fight ok?"

"Thank you." Cordy whispered as she climbed on top of Angel and kissed him and began unbuttoning his shirt.

"We shouldn't…. Catherine." Angel mumbled.

"She's sleeping. We need to make up." She whispered as she slid his shirt off.

Angel quickly removed Cordy's shirt and bra. She began kissing his chest. Her tongue teased his nipples. She left a trail of light and tantalizing kisses down to his waist. With his assistance, his pants were thrown to the floor. Cordy took him in her mouth. He groaned in delight. When Cordy felt that Angel was about to lose control, she pulled herself away and planted kisses up and down his shaft. After she felt that she had tormented him enough, she used her mouth and hand to send him over the edge.

"God, Cordy." Angel gasped as he was recovering from his climax. She lay back down on the bed, feeling very pleased with herself.

"Make up oral sex rocks." She said giggling.

"Now it's my turn to make up with you." He said.

His mouth went towards her breast but she stopped him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, unless you want a mouthful of milk."

"Oh yeah. Forgot about that."

He began to kiss her belly. He slid a hand down her pants. She was wet and ready. With his free hand, he removed her pants. He dove two fingers inside her and began to work his magic. His fingers were soon replaced with his tongue. He quickly darted it in and out. Cordy was squirming beneath him. She grabbed onto his hair. He felt the need to tease her as she did to him so he pulled away from her and planted kisses on her belly.

"Don't leave me hanging." She gasped as she ran her fingers through his hair. He grinned as he slid two fingers back inside of her and used his thumb to fondle her clitoris. Her hands clenched the bed sheets and her toes curled. She grabbed the pillow and put it over her face and screamed out in uninhibited pleasure.

"Good God, that gets better every time." She said

"What's up with the pillow?" He asked

"I didn't want to wake up Catherine." Angel started laughing.

"She's in the next room with the door closed."

"I can be very loud." Cordy said as she pulled Angel on top of her.

"Oh believe me I know." Angel grinned as he kissed her gently.

"I love you and I hate fighting with you."

"I love you too and you know that there is some part of you that likes fighting with me."

"Yeah, but it's a very little part." She giggled as she pulled him towards her and kissed him deeply. Crying from the baby monitor quickly interrupted them.

"Duty calls."

"I'll get her."

As Angel walked towards Catherine's room she was reminded how lucky she was. Their love was strong and would last the test time. She was confident in that.


	35. Chapter 35

Over the past year and a half, life moved forward as it always does. There had been numerous demons and vampires that the crew on Angel Investigations had killed, destroyed or defeated. Cordy had been able to go out and assist in numerous killings once a week. That was the agreement that she and Angel had come to. Fred and Wes had gotten married in a simple ceremony preformed in the lobby of the hotel. They were headed towards their six-month anniversary. Gunn and Justine were still dating and had no interest in marriage. They were perfectly content with the way things were. The biggest surprise was that of Connor and Ciara. They were getting married in one month. They both were barely twenty-one and Angel was concerned that they were too young for marriage but Cordy convinced him that they would be fine.

Catherine was growing so quickly. She was nineteen months now. She was walking or running everywhere. That child did not lack for attention of any kind. She had all of her aunts and uncles wrapped around her little finger. She adored her older brother who adored her just as much and true to his word, Connor spoiled her rotten but not in a bad way. She also had her parents wrapped around her finger, especially her father. She just had to smile at him and he gave her whatever she demanded. Cordy had to become the disciplinarian but fortunately, she didn't need much discipline. She really was a good little girl.

"Ner. Ball." Catherine said to Connor as she handed her brother her ball.

"Ok, sweetie. Catch." Connor said smiling as he rolled the ball to his sister. She squealed in delight as she caught it. Gunn walked in at that moment.

"Gunn. You play ball." Catherine demanded and of course he sat right down on the floor and joined in the game. As usual, like most children her age her attention span for playing with the ball didn't last long so as soon as Gunn got comfortable on the floor Catherine decided that she was done playing with the ball and she went and started playing with one of her many dolls. She had just started playing with the doll when Angel and Cordy walked into the lobby.

"Daddy." Catherine screeched as she dropped the doll and toward to her father.

"How's daddy's big girl?" She giggled as he threw her into the air. Cordy cringed.

"I hate it when you throw her up like that.' Cordy said

"Oh she's fine." He tossed her up again and Catherine squealed.

"Please be careful. She can't heal like you can." Angel laughed.

"Your mama is nervous." Angel said to Catherine

"Mama." Catherine held out her arms to Cordy.

Cordy took Catherine in her arms and hugged her tightly. "I missed you."

"Up mama, up."

"Now look what you started." Cordy said to Angel as she handed their daughter him.

"Up daddy, up."

"Whatever you want chipmunk." He began tossing her up in the air again.

"Oh I can't watch this." Cordy said as she started to make dinner for Catherine.

An hour later Cordy, Angel, Connor, Ciara and Catherine sat down for dinner. Cordy and Ciara made spaghetti. Of course Angel didn't eat but he never missed a meal with his family. Catherine was stripped down to her diaper because whenever she ate spaghetti, it ended up all over her. They were laughing as Catherine picked up her sauce-covered noodles and put them all over her head.

"Quick, the camera." Cordy said. Connor handed the camera to her and she began snapping pictures of her spaghetti-covered daughter. After the pictures were taken Catherine picked up the remaining noodles on her plate and threw them at her brother, which caused them to laugh even harder.

Catherine was encouraged with all the laughter so she continued throwing her noodles. They were all laughing so loud they never heard the door to the lobby open. In fact, they had no idea that anyone had joined them until they heard her voice.

"Angel, Cordelia." They both turned around at the sound of their names being called.

"Buffy." Angel said softly

"What are you doing here?" Cordy asked

"Didn't Angel tell you?" Cordy whipped her head around to took at Angel

"No he didn't." She said staring him down.

"Sorry I forgot."

"Yeah, I'm sure you did." Cordy mumbled

"I got word that there is a group of vampires turning humans and training them to be soldiers to take over the world." Buffy said

"How come we haven't heard anything about that?" Connor asked

"I have a vamp under cover. That's the only reason that I know about it."

"That's why Buffy is here. She is planning on bringing them down and she needs our help." Angel said. Buffy walked over to Ciara.

"You must be Connor's fiancé Ciara. I'm Buffy an old friend of Cordy and Angel."

"Nice to meet you." Ciara said softly

"Daddy. Up." Catherine yelled. She was done eating.

"Oh my God. She is adorable. Angel you said she was beautiful, but not this gorgeous." Buffy said. She walked over to the baby. "Hello there Catherine. I have heard so much about you."

_How many conversations has he had with her and why didn't I know about it._ Cordy thought. She walked over and picked up her spaghetti-covered daughter.

"Come on baby girl, how about a bath?"

"Wow Cordy, I never thought that I would see you picking up a dirty kid and not worry about your own clothes."

"People change Buffy."

"I can see that."

Cordy walked over with Catherine in her arms and kissed Angel hard on the mouth.

"I love you." She said

"I love you too."

"We'll be back down after her bath." Angel nodded and watched her head upstairs.

Ciara and Connor had managed to sneak out leaving Buffy and Angel alone.

"So Cordelia had really changed." Buffy said

"She has grown up a lot in these past few years. The visions did that. They made her care about others more than herself."

"Is she a good mother?"

"She is a great mom."

"That surprises me."

"It shouldn't. She really is an amazing woman." Angel said as he stared at the stairs that Cordy and Catherine just walked up.

--

"No mommy no." Catherine yelled as Cordy lifted up a wet and kicking Catherine. She loved her bath and it was always a fight to get her out of the tub.

"Catherine stop it right now." Cordy said sternly as she got hit in the face. Catherine's eyes immediately filled with tears at the sound of Cordy's stern voice. "Now sit still and let me dress you."

Fifteen minutes later Catherine was in her pajamas and they were headed back downstairs to the lobby, Angel and Buffy were still seated at the table talking. Cordy put Catherine on the floor and she ran over to them screaming Angel's name.

"Daddy, daddy, daddy." She threw herself into Angel's arms.

"Hey chipmunk. Were you a good girl for mommy?" Catherine just grinned at her father.

"No, she wasn't." Cordy said as she sat on Angel's lap.

"Didn't want to get out of the tub huh?" Angel said to Catherine.

_This is ridiculous. I feel like an animal staking my territory, and in this case Angel is the territory. _Cordy thought

Thirty minutes later, Catherine began yawning and twirling her hair, the signal that she was ready for bed.

"Come on, let's put our girl to bed." Cordy said

"Would you mind doing it on your own tonight Cor? Buffy and I have a lot of plans to go over."

"Ok, yeah sure."

"Good night Chipmunk. I love you."

"Ove you Daddy." She said as she kissed him.

Cordy took a very tired Catherine upstairs to her bed.

"Moon mama."

"Ok baby girl. I love you."

"Ove you mama." Catherine said as she closed her eyes and laid her head on her pillow. Cordy stretched out on the floor next to her toddler bed and began to read **Goodnight Moon, **Catherine's favorite bedtime story. By the end of the story Cordy was also asleep.

She awoke a few hours later stiff and sore with no idea how long she had been sleeping. She went into her bedroom and was surprised to find it was after midnight. She was somewhat surprised that Angel wasn't in bed. He sometimes fell asleep at his desk and that's what she figured happened. Not wanting to wake Catherine, she snuck quietly out of the room. She was halfway down the stairs when she saw Buffy and Angel in the middle of the lobby standing very close together. She was about to yell for Angel when she noticed what they were doing. Her heart dropped into her stomach. They were kissing and it wasn't just a friendly kiss. Buffy's hands were caressing Angel's ass. His hands were running through her blonde hair. They broke apart for a second and then his lips attacked hers. Cordy ran back up to her room with the tears streaming down her face. She threw herself on her bed and sobbed.

_Oh, God, this can't be happening. I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming. He loves me. Angel loves me._ Cordy thought as the tears continued to fall. _What about Catherine? How could he do this to her? How could he break up our family? This is all Buffy's fault, that tramp. She just can't deal with Angel not wanting her anymore. She forced him to kiss her. But if he was forced, why did he kiss her back like he did? _She sobbed harder.

She had finally calmed down when she heard Angel and Buffy coming down the hall. They were talking but she couldn't make out their words. Cordy threw herself under the blankets and put the pillow over her head. She didn't want Angel to see her crying right away. She had every confidence that he would explain himself. She heard the door open. She didn't move. He went to Catherine's room. He came back a few minutes later and climbed into bed beside Cordy. He always kisses her goodnight, but this time he didn't. He just lay on his side of the bed, making no move to touch her. Cordy's tears fell silently.


	36. Chapter 36

_**PREVIOUS NIGHT**_

"Angel, Catherine is adorable." Buffy said staring at Angel who was watching Cordy carry her up to bed.

"Yeah she is." He responded softly

"Cordy seems to have adjusted well to motherhood." Angel nodded but didn't respond

"Ok, so let's talk about this vamp problem." Buffy said and the two began to formulate a plan. Hours later they were all talked out and they had moved from the table to the couch in the lobby having a cup of tea. Buffy was sitting very close to Angel, resting her hand on his knee. He made no effort to move it away. It was a comfortable feeling. Buffy smiled to herself. Things were going according to her plan.

"What happened to Cordy?" Buffy asked, "Why didn't she come back down"

"She probably fell asleep reading Catherine her story."

"Angel, are you happy?"

"Yeah, sure I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know why you wouldn't be happy. You tell me."

"I am happy Buffy. I have Connor. Our relationship is great. I have the most beautiful daughter ever and I have Cordy."

"Are things good between you two?"

"Of course. Things are fine."

"Then why was she surprised when I told her that we have been talking on the phone?"

"I, uhhh, I may not of mentioned it to her."

"If things are so hunky dory between you two, why wouldn't you tell her that you have been have phone conversations with an old friend?"

"I don't know. It just never came up."

"Yeah sure it didn't." Angel didn't respond and they sat in silence for a while. Buffy's hand slowly moved from his knee up his thigh. He made no move to stop her.

_This is going well._ Buffy thought. _Better than I thought actually._

"Buffy…"

"What Angel?"

"Never mind." He said softly.

"My boyfriend and I broke up."

"You mean you and Spike broke up."

"You knew?"

"Yeah I knew."

"How?" Buffy was shocked. She hadn't told anyone at Angel Investigations that she was with Spike.

"I come to Sunnydale occasionally to check on you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend."

"Does Cordelia know that you came to Sunnydale to check on your friend?" Angel shook his head. "Do you want to know why I think that you didn't mention your visits to Cordy?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"You didn't tell her because you know that she would get pissed off."

"No, she wouldn't. We are just friends."

"Are we just friends Angel?"

"Of course we are."

"Then why is my hand resting high up on your thigh?" Angel jumped up and walked quickly away from Buffy. She followed him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Angel, I still love you. I never stopped."

"Buffy don't." Using her strength as a slayer she spun him around to face her.

"I love you." She whispered softly

"Buffy please, I have…I'm with Cordy."

"I can accept that if you can look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love me."

"I…I…Jesus Buffy."

"You can't do it can you?"

"I will always love you. You were my first love, but…"

"But what?"

"Why do we have to talk about this?"

"Just look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't have feelings for me and I will drop it."

Angel looked Buffy in the eyes for a few minutes. He sighed.

"I don't think I can." He said with tears in his eyes

Buffy grabbed Angel by the shirt and pulled him towards her and kissed him. He took his hands and cupped her face. Her hands found his way to his ass. She caressed it.

_Jesus, I have missed his mouth and his ass. God, I have really missed his tight ass._ Buffy thought.

Angel shoved his tongue into her mouth. She eagerly shoved her tongue in his mouth, both of them searching for each other. Angel slowly broke the kiss and looked at Buffy, for a second then he attacked her lips again with force. Buffy grabbed his ass tightly. He kissed her harder. Suddenly he realized what has happening and he quickly pulled away from Buffy.

"What the hell Angel?" Buffy snapped

"No, this is wrong, all wrong." He stuttered.

"It's was right. You felt it. I know you did."

"I don't know what I was feeling. The only thing that I do know for sure is that the only person that I want to kiss is Cordy."

"If you are so sure about that then why did you kiss me?"

"You kissed me first."

"You kissed me second."

"And you enjoyed it."

"Look, this never should have happened. Let's just forget it." Angel snapped as he headed to the stairs.

"No let's not forget it." She said as she chased him up the stairs.

"This never happened. I made a mistake." He whispered. They were approaching his bedroom.

"Angel, we were never a mistake." She tried to kiss him, but he held her back.

"Buffy, no it's over."

"No, Angel it's not." She said as she walked into the room where she was staying.

Buffy was furious. She is not used to losing. In fact she never lost and she wasn't going to start now by losing Angel.

_I'll be damned if Cordelia Chase will win this battle. Angel was mine first and he will be mine last. He won't tell her what happened. I know he won't and I will use that to my advantage. _Buffy thought. She felt good by the time she fell asleep.

After taking a moment to compose himself, Angel slowly opened his bedroom door and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Cordy buried under the blankets and pillow. He had no idea what to say to her and he was thankful that he wouldn't have to talk to her tonight. He walked into Catherine's room and saw his daughter sleeping peacefully in her crib. Tears filled his eyes.

"Oh baby girl, your dad is one big screw up." He whispered to Catherine "Your mom is going to hate me. I don't know if I can fix this but I promise you darling, I'm going to try my hardest. I love you." He kissed her gently and headed for bed.

He climbed carefully into bed, trying not to wake Cordy. He wanted to kiss her goodnight, like he always does, but he couldn't make himself do it. He was afraid that he would hurt her more so he just lay down and stared at the ceiling.

_Jesus Christ, what the hell have I done? Why did I kiss her back? Why did I kiss her a second time? All of the old feelings came rushing to the surface, feelings that I had forgotten that I had but once my brain function returned I knew that Cordy is the one that I want to be with. So do I tell her? Would I want her to tell me if she did something like that? Hell yeah so I could rip the asshole's throat apart. She will be so pissed off if she found out. I possibly just ruined the best thing that ever happened to me. What the hell am I going to do?_

Angel wrestled with these thoughts all night arguing with himself on whether or not to tell Cordy about the huge mistake that he made. As the sun rose he finally decided to not to break her heart.


	37. Chapter 37

Cordy woke up the next morning with a massive headache. She hasn't had a headache like that since before she turned part demon. She knew it was because of all of the crying that she did the night before. She rolled over and looked at Angel who was sleeping on his side of the bed, nowhere near her. Her heart ached. She wanted to wake him from his peaceful sleep and confront him about what she saw, but she also wanted to believe that he would tell her on his own. Cordelia Chase was always a woman who had total control over her life and right now, her life was spiraling out of control and she hated that she couldn't stop it and it was all because she fell in love.

She quietly got up and headed to the bathroom. She quickly swallowed some aspirin and jumped in the shower before Catherine woke up. Thirty minutes later, she came out of the bathroom, feeling slightly better. Angel was still sleeping and Catherine was awake. She heard her through the monitor babbling softly to herself. Turning off the monitor, she walked to Catherine's room.

"Morning baby." Cordy said as she went into her room and shut the door. She didn't want Angel sneaking up on her.

"Mommy." Catherine smiled and wrapped her arms around her mom. Cordy picked her daughter up and hugged her tightly and then proceeded to get her ready for the day, pouring her heart out to her at the same time.

"Oh Catherine mommy is scared. Daddy messed up big time and I'm afraid that I lost him. I thought that Buffy was over him and he was over her, but little girl, from what I saw last night he is not over her. I hope your daddy comes clean with mommy. If he does, I think that I can forgive him."

After Catherine was dressed they headed back to her bedroom. Angel was still sleeping but as soon as Catherine saw him she started yelling for him.

"Daddy. Daddy." She was squirming so much in Cordy's arms that she couldn't hold on to her. Cordy sat her down on the bed and she bounded over to Angel, jumping on him. He rolled over and smiled at his daughter.

"Good Morning Chipmunk." He said as he kissed her. "Morning Cor."

"Morning."

"Come here." He said as he held out his hand. She took it and sat down on the bed next to him. He pulled him toward him and kissed her softly and she quickly pulled away. She wasn't ready for that yet.

"What time did you come to bed last night?" _Come on, here is your opening. Tell me. _

"Oh, Buffy and I lost track of time making the plans so it was pretty late."

_Chicken shit. _Cordy thought

"Oh. So what is the plan?"

"We have called in Gunn's old crew for extra muscle."

"That's a good idea."

"We are going to attack at sundown tonight. They already know that Buffy is in town, and if we wait any longer they will split."

"Daddy, mommy. Jump." Catherine said as she started jumping on the bed.

"Catherine, no. Sit." At the sound of her mother's stern voice, she quickly sat on Angel's chest. "Tonight, are we ready?"

"Yeah, were ready. Look, I slept for shit last night so I'm going to get a few more hours of shut eye."

_Good, you deserved not to sleep. _"Ok, I'll wake you in a few hours. Come on Catherine, let's get you some breakfast."

"No, stay wit daddy." She whined as she wrapped her arms around Angel's neck.

"Daddy needs a nap. Go with mommy." He said as he pulled her away from his neck, and handed her to Cordy.

"Nig night?"

"Yep night, night." He paused for a moment. "Cor, are you ok?'

_Hell, no I'm not ok. You broke my heart._ "I'm fine, just a little headache."

"You sure?" Cordy nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak. She headed for the door and with her back to Angel she wished him a good sleep as her silent tears fell.

--

The morning and early afternoon was busy. Cordy concentrated on Catherine but every time she looked at Buffy, her heart broke all over again. Buffy was extremely happy considering that she was headed into a huge battle in a few hours. The Buffy she remembered from high school was always focused before a fight, but today she was just damn right giddy and it was really pissing Cordy off.

Angel finally came down in the early afternoon. He took some time playing with Catherine before he got to work. It had become a tradition, that before he went out to fight, he spent some one on one time with his daughter. He said that was a great motivation to kick ass. After an hour of good quality time he got right to work.

Gunn's crew started to arrive, extremely pumped up ready to stake some vamps. There was an air of excitement in the lobby of the hotel. Everyone knew that this was huge and there would be a ton of lives saved tonight.

Buffy was pretty much throwing herself at Angel and it was making Cordy want to puke. If they were sitting at the table, her chair was right next to his, if he was standing, she was right beside him, and if he was walking she was following right behind him. Cordy couldn't get anywhere near him. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. Fuming, she grabbed Buffy's arm and drug her into Angel's office, where they could be alone.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Cordy sneered

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked innocently

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

"I really don't."

"Stay away from him. He is in love with me."

"Oh really? Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I am." Cordy said with confidence that she really wasn't feeling

"Then why didn't he tell you about our phone calls?"

"He did, I just forgot about it."

"You are such a liar. You never will change will you?"

"I have changed. My goal in life is to help people. To save people."

"But you can't save yourself, can you Cordelia?"

"I have been saved. My visions saved me. Angel saved me."

"That's Angel, helping the helpless."

"I. Am. Not. Helpless."

"Okay, if you say so."

"I am not the first thing that I think of when I wake up in the mornings anymore. I no longer think what about me. My first thoughts are always about my daughter followed by thoughts of her father."

"Speaking of Catherine, how in the hell did you manage to convince Angel, that she is his?"

Cordy's hand connected with Buffy's cheek. "You bitch, how dare you?"

"Seriously Cordelia, one kid fathered by a vampire is amazing enough. No way it could happen twice. What happened? Did you get knocked up by some loser, drop a few crocodile tears in Angel's lap and convince him to lie for you so that you wouldn't look like a tramp around your friends?"

"Angel is Catherine's father. We made love, we made Catherine. End of story."

"Yeah kinda funny about the whole sex with Angel thing huh. If you remember correctly, when we made love, he had that one moment of pure happiness. Since Angel isn't Angelus, and if you guys really made love like you claim, then he obviously isn't in love with you because if he was Angelus would be here, not Angel."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh I don't huh?

"Look, just stay the hell away from Angel. Stake some vamps and get the hell out of my town." Cordy headed for the door.

"Maybe you should tell Angel the same thing." Cordy's hand froze on the handle.

"Excuse me?"

"If I have to stay away from Angel then he needs to quit coming to Sunnydale."

"He's been back?" Cordy gasped

"He didn't tell you that either did he?" Buffy said smugly.

The tears fell from Cordy's eyes as certain memories came rushing back. The countless times that she had walked into his office while he was on the phone and how quickly he hung it up, and the times when he claimed he had to go out of town to take care of some demons or vamps when he was really going to Sunnydale to see her. She never questioned his actions because she trusted him completely. Forgetting, that she wanted him to come clean about the kiss she saw, she stormed out of his office. The whole crew was there, in the lobby, with the exception of Catherine who was upstairs napping. Angel saw her coming towards him, fury in her eyes and tears streaming down her face. He knew that she knew his secret.

"Cor, I can explain." Cordy slapped him hard across the face.

"You lying son of a bitch."


	38. Chapter 38

Wes, Fred, Gunn, Justine, Lorne, Ciara, and Conner stood back in silent shock as they watched Cordy storm over to Angel and slap him across the face. Buffy stood behind them with a small smile playing on her lips.

Angel jerked backwards when Cordy slapped him. She put a lot of power into that slap.

"You lying son of a bitch." They heard her say to him.

"Cor, please, let's talk about this." He begged. He hated himself for the pain she was in and the tears falling down her cheeks because he knew that he was the cause of it all.

"Talk, you want to talk? It's way to late for that buddy."

"It's not what it looked like."

"It sure the hell looked like you were kissing her but my mistake, you must have been giving her CPR while standing."

"Her? Her who?" Gunn asked

"I think Buffy." Wes whispered

"He kissed Buffy?" Justine whispered

"Shhh." Fred said

"She kissed me first."

"Did you kiss her back?" Angel was silent. "Don't lie to me because I have just about enough of your lies." She screamed at him

"Lies, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb and act like you don't know what I'm talking about.'

"The kiss…"

"Part of it is the kiss. You lied when you didn't tell me about it. I was awake last night when you came in from your suckfest with Buf, but you didn't tell me. This morning I asked you what went on last night and again you didn't tell me."

"I should of told you but it didn't mean anything to me and I didn't want to hurt you." Angel reached out and tried to take her hand but she slapped it away.

"Well, that didn't work out so well for you did it dumbass, cause in case you can't tell I'm hurting." She spat at him

"I'm so sorry."

"You sure the hell are."

"Cordelia, please, I love you." Angel said with tears in his eyes

"You have a funny way of showing it with all of your lies and secrets."

"I don't keep secrets from you."

"Oh so the secret phone calls and visits to Sunnydale to see Buffy, must of just slipped your mind huh?"

Angel turned his head and glared at Buffy who was still standing in the back of the room smiling smugly.

"During the visits I was just checking on a friend."

"If that's all it was why didn't you tell me?"

"I… I…I don't know." He was drowning and he knew it.

"You make me sick." She turned away from him and he grabbed her arm. "Don't touch me." Angel quickly dropped her arm

"Cordy, I can fix this."

"You can't fix this Angel. I trusted you with my heart and you broke it into a million pieces."

"Cor…" She held up her hand to stop him from saying anything else.

"I don't want to hear any more of your pathetic excuses. It's over."

"Over?"

"Yes Angel, we are over. Finished."

"No, it's not over. We can't be over."

"That's what happens when you lie, cheat, and keep secrets from the woman that you claim to love."

"No, I won't let you walk away."

"You don't have a choice, you brought this on yourself."

"Cordy, you misunderstood what happened."

"Give it up. I hate you Angel."

"No, you don't."

Cordy looked Angel right in the eyes. He saw sadness, fear and anger through the tears that were still falling from her eyes. "I hate you." She said softly.

They stared at each other for a few agonizing minutes. Finally Cordy tore her brown eyes away from his and ran up the stairs to their room. Once she was gone Angel walked over to Buffy, grabbed her by the elbow and drug her into his office.

"What the hell were thinking?" Angel snapped at her.

"I didn't tell her about the kiss, she must have seen us." Buffy replied

"So you had to rub salt in her wound by telling her about the phone calls and the visits to Sunnydale that you didn't even know about."

"I thought that she should know what was really going with you."

"You have no idea what is going on with me."

"I know that you still love me."

"Bullshit."

"It's true and I'm going to prove it to you." Buffy said as she grabbed Angel's shirt and pulled him towards her for a kiss.

--

"I can't believe that Angel kissed Buffy." Fred said as soon as Angel's office door closed

"It's understandable. They have a history." Wes explained

"It doesn't make sense. He loves Cordy." Ciara said softly.

"He may be a vampire but he is still a man." Justine said

"I don't trust Buffy. I agree with Ciara, he really does love Cordy." Lorne said

"This is such shit." Connor snapped. Ciara came over to him and put her arms around him. "I can't believe that he did this to Cordy."

"There has got to be a logical explanation." She whispered

Connor looked through the window of Angel's office and saw his father and Buffy kissing. His eyes flashed with anger.

"There's an explanation all right, just not a logical one." He said as he stormed in to Angel's office.

"God dammit dad, what the hell is wrong with you?" Connor snapped and Buffy and Angel pulled apart.

"Connor get out. I'm not talking about this with you right now." Angel said

"How could you dad?"

"Connor out, NOW." Angel roared and Connor walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

"Are you happy now, you have ruined my life. My friends probably hate me, my son hates me and Cordy and I may never recover."

"I didn't ruin anything Angel. I just brought to the surface what you buried deep down which is your true feelings for me."

"After we kill these vamps tonight, I want you gone. Gone from my hotel, my city and my life."

"You don't tell me what to do. I'll leave when I'm damn good and ready."

"Jesus Buffy, and you thought Cordy was selfish. You are worse then she ever was."

Angel walked out of his office, leaving Buffy standing there, staring after him.

"Angel, we need to get going. It's already past sundown." Wesley said softly

"I know what time it is. I have to talk to her." Angel replied as he walked right past his friends upstairs to his room. He turned the doorknob, but it didn't move. She had locked the door. He briefly considered breaking it down, but he thought that if he did, she would be waiting on the other side with a stake, and he was right.

"Cor, can I come in." He asked as he knocked on the door.

"No." Came the reply from the other side of the door.

"Please baby, I need to talk to you."

"Go away."

"Don't shut me out. Please talk to me."

"I can't. Not now."

"Look the vamps, I have to go."

"Then go."

"I will be back to fix this. I promise."

"You can't fix this."

"I love you Cordelia." He said softly. She didn't respond. He slowly walked away. He was halfway down the hall when he heard the door open.

"Be careful Angel." Cordy said. Before he could react she shut the door.

"Let's get to work." Angel said when he returned to the lobby. His friends slowly followed him out of the door.

--

Cordy shut the door behind her. She may have been mad as hell at him, but she didn't want him to get hurt and she was worried that something bad might happen. He was never at the top of his game when he had stuff on his mind and he definitely had stuff on his mind today.

Sighing Cordy went back to packing. She couldn't stay here anymore. She had made a couple of phone calls and found out that her old apartment just happened to be vacant. Her ghost Dennis must he giving the tenants a hard time because she was told that the apartment was vacant more than it was occupied. After she arranged her living arrangements, she put a phone call into Willow to get the un-invite spell that they used when they were in high school when Angelus was terrorizing Sunnydale.

"Cordy, can I come in?" Ciara said as she knocked on the locked door.

"Is he with you?" She asked

"No, they are all gone. I'm the only one here." Cordy unlocked the door and Ciara stepped in. Her eyes got wide as she noticed the suitcases around the room. "Are you leaving?"

"I have to Ce. I can't stay here with him."

"Well, what about another room?"

"No, I need to be away from him to sort out my feelings."

"What about Catherine?"

"She's coming with me."

"You're taking her away from her father?"

"I would never keep Catherine away from Angel. He can see her whenever he wants."

Tears fell from Ciara's eyes. Cordy took her into her arms. "Please, don't leave me Cordy."

"I'm not leaving you. I'm leaving Angel. You'll still see me, I do have a job here and your wedding is coming up. Nothing will change between us. I promise.

After Ciara calmed down, she agreed to watch Catherine while she took the bags to her car. An hour later the car was all packed and Cordy was waiting in the lobby. She wasn't leaving until tomorrow morning but she couldn't sleep until she knew that everyone was safe.

--

Cordy woke up from her deep sleep when she felt Angel's hand running down her face. She quickly jumped off the couch into a standing position and out of pure reflex she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm so glad that you're ok." As his arms tightened around her and when she saw Buffy standing behind him, her anger returned. She quickly pulled herself away.

"Cor?" Angel asked hopefully.

"I was just waiting to make sure that everyone was ok, and now that I see that everyone is good, I'm going to bed. You…" She said looking at Angel "can sleep anywhere but in my bed. You can sleep with Buffy if you want. I don't really give a shit."

Cordy left everyone standing in shock as she headed back upstairs to her room and cried herself to sleep. The group quietly dispersed to their respective homes or rooms. Exhausted, Angel sat on the couch in the lobby and held his head in his hands. Buffy sat next to him.

"Go away." He snapped

"We should act on Cordy's idea and sleep together."

"Get the hell away from me." He said as he stomped to his office, slammed and locked the door and that's where he spent the night.

--

Angel was woken up the next morning by voices coming from the lobby. He saw Cordy standing in the middle of the lobby with Catherine giving and receiving hugs from their friends.

"Daddy." Catherine squealed as she ran over to him when he came out of his office.

"Chipmunk." His daughter continued her infant babbling. "What's going on?"

"Going bye bye." Catherine answered and Angel looked at Cordy, his eyes full of questions.

"Angel, Catherine and I are leaving."

"No, Cor, you can't go."

"I need to. I can't be around you. I'm too angry. It's not a good environment for our daughter.

"You can stay here. I'll move to another room." He pleaded as Catherine walked back over to her mother and took her hand.

"I'm sorry, Angel."

"Where are you going?"

"Back to my old apartment, you can see Catherine whenever you want and when I return to work in a few days, I will bring her with me. Catherine, baby, tell daddy bye." Cordy said as she walked to the door.

"Bye daddy."

"Tell him you love him."

"Wuv you."

"I won't let you go." He yelled as Cordy opened the door.

"I'd love to see you try and stop me, outside in the sunlight." She said as she walked into the light of day and there was nothing that Angel could do as the two people he loved most in the world, walk out of his life.


	39. Chapter 39

Angel watched helplessly as Cordy and Catherine walked out into the bright sunlight. He desperately wanted to follow, but unfortunately, there was no direct sewer access to Cordy's apartment and he figured that none of his friends, if they were still his friends at this point, would be willing to drive him over to see her. He would just have to wait until sundown.

"Come on Ciara. We need to help her settle in." Connor said as he took her hand. He was so worried about Cordy and his sister and he was so angry at his father that he couldn't stand to be in the same room with him.

Angel had a slight glimmer of hope when he heard Connor say that he was going to Cordy's. "Son, can you take me with you?"

"Sure thing dad." Angel was thrilled. "Just hop in the back of my truck. Fresh air will do you good."

"You could have just simply said no." He should of known better. He knew that Connor was pissed at him and he should be. Hell, he was pissed at himself.

"Tell her I'll be by later." Fred said to Connor and Ciara's back. They both nodded.

"If you need me I'll be upstairs." Angel said to the silent room as he headed upstairs. He couldn't take their stares any longer.

Angel shut the door softly behind him looked around his room. With a quick glance, it looked as if she was still there. Pictures of his family still remained throughout the room. All of the feminine touches that she put on the room still remained. He gently ran his fingers over the petals of the flowers that he had given her the week before. He smiled as he remembered her face. She was so happy. He destroyed her happiness. He walked into Catherine's room. Her bed and some of her toys still remained. He knew that Cordy was telling the truth when she said that he could see Catherine whenever he wanted. He hated that she wasn't with him and he needed something of his daughter so he grabbed one of her dolls. He now searched for something, anything of Cordy's. He opened all of her dresser drawers but they were empty. He walked into their bathroom. All of her bra's that were usually hanging were gone. He opened the medicine cabinet and it was void of all of her belongings. He slowly walked back out to the bedroom. He looked around when something hanging out from under the bed caught his eye. He bent down and pulled out one of her tee shirts that she slept in. He quickly grabbed it, thankful for small miracles. He climbed in on Cordy's side of the bed and hugged her pillow to his chest, clinging to her scent. He couldn't believe that his life had come to this. He let the tears flow as his body shook with sobs.

--

"Who is it?" Cordy asked from behind the closed door.

"Connor and Ciara."

"Are you alone?" Cordy hadn't even had time to activate the uninvite spell. She wasn't sure if her invitation that she gave Angel when she lived her before would still hold up since she had moved out but she wasn't taking any chances.

"Yeah, it's just us." The door slowly opened and Connor and Ciara stepped in and Cordy was nowhere to be seen. As soon as they were past the entrance the door shut behind them. Ciara gripped Connor's hand tightly.

"Okay, this is creeping me out." Connor said.

"Dennis, stop it. You're scaring them." Cordy said as she came around the corner with Catherine right on her heels.

"Dennis?" Ciara asked. She was afraid that Cordy was losing her mind; she was talking to someone that wasn't there.

"Yeah, phantom Dennis. He is my ghost roommate." Cordy looked horrible. She had bags under her eyes, which were red and swollen from crying.

"You have a ghost for a roommate?" Connor was also having a hard time thinking that she was still sane.

"Dennis, quit being rude and introduce your self." Cordy demanded and the lights flicked on and off.

"Okay, then." The young couple was still a bit uncomfortable with the whole ghost thing so they chose to ignore it. "So can we help?" Connor asked

"Yeah, that would be great. It's been a pain in the ass bringing in my stuff from the car with Catherine tailing behind me."

Catherine finally realized that Connor and Ciara were there. She flung herself into her brother's arms. "Ner, Ara, look." She said happily. Catherine still hadn't mastered the letter C yet. Ciara took over watching Catherine while Cordy and Connor brought in everything from her car.

"Look Cordy, I'm sorry for all of this shit."

"Connor sweetie, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"I know but I'm still sorry that this has happening to you. I am so pissed at him." Connor said, his voice full of anger.

"Thanks for being sorry, but it's my fight not yours. I don't want our problems to affect your relationship."

"It's too late for that. He was incredibly stupid for ruining the best thing that ever happened to him."

"I agree Connor, he is an ass, but he and Buffy have a history together. She was his first love, sometimes people don't get over that." Cordy said that with confidence that she didn't feel inside.

"Well I for one plan on never getting over my first love." Connor said looking lovingly at Ciara, who was on the floor playing with Catherine. He saw the tears in Cordy's eyes and he realized the stupid insensitive comment that just came out of his mouth. "Oh God, Cordy, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"No it's fine. I will hold you too that. Some of us should be happy."

--

When Connor and Ciara left and Angel headed upstairs, Buffy tried to leave but Wesley grabbed her arm to stop her.

"We need to talk." Wesley knew that Angel had played a part in what had transpired between him and Buffy but he also knew Buffy had played a bigger role.

"Let me go Wesley." She snapped. She managed to break free of his grasp but Gunn, Justine, Fred and Lorne surrounded her. She knew that she wasn't going to get of this conversation.

"Buffy, what got into you? Last time that you were in town you were fine with Cordy and Angel being together. What changed?" Wes asked her

"The last time I was here it was an emergency. My main goal was to capture Angelus and at the time I was with Spike and I thought that it was just a little crush that would go nowhere."

"Well it did go somewhere. They are in love." A frustrated Fred said. Her best friend's heart was broken and it was all Buffy's fault.

"Well obviously they aren't too much in love if he has been keeping secrets from her." Buffy was not in the mood to be interrogated by the Fang Gang.

"He had a reason for that." Gunn said defending his friend.

"Look, he loves me. He has never stopped. Cordy was just a fling until I became available."

"God, just because you're not happy then Cordy can't be happy." Justine snapped

"I have literally given my life to save people. I deserve happiness and Angel is my happiness."

"Not anymore Buffy. Cordelia is Angel's happiness." Wesley said softly. He hoped that he could get through to Buffy. "You were once Angel's happiness but no more. His entire happiness is wrapped up in Catherine and Cordelia."

"I don't believe that." Buffy said softly. Wes knew that she was breaking.

"It's true. They complete each other. I didn't know you when you and Angel were together but what Cordy and Angel have is strong. Their love has been tested and when the test is over they come out stronger." Fred said

"Spike just up and left me. He gave me no reason." The tough Buffy was quickly disappearing.

"So you decided to mend your broken heart by getting Angel back?" Fred asked her softly. She was still mad as hell at her but she wanted to find out why she did what she did.

"I guess, I thought that I wouldn't miss him as much if Angel was back in my life and then when I saw how much this was destroying Cordy, I felt better knowing that someone else was hurting as much as I was." Buffy admitted softly. She hated herself for feeling so vulnerable. She was the slayer. She isn't vulnerable except when it comes to love.

"Buffy, you need to leave town. If Cordy and Angel have a chance of saving their relationship you can't be here interfering." Gunn suddenly spoke up. He preferred to let Fred and Wes handle the relationship stuff, but he couldn't let this slide.

"I…I…" Buffy began but Wes interrupted.

"I know that deep down you want Angel to be happy even it is with Cordelia and that can't happen with you around."

"I understand. I'll pack and be gone." Buffy said as she sadly walked to her room to pack. Before she left, she stopped in front of Angel's room and knocked softly. When he didn't answer she spoke anyway.

"Angel, I'm leaving. I'm sorry for everything. I will always love you."

--

"Catherine, please come back here so mommy can put your diaper on." Cordy yelled as her daughter ran naked around the house. Catherine giggled and kept running. She was becoming very frustrated. She wasn't used to doing this on her own. Angel was usually there to help rein Catherine in after her bath. They usually tag teamed, one on each end of the room and then one of them caught her. It wasn't going easy at all tonight.

"Dennis, where is she?" Cordy yelled and the lights flicked in the kitchen. "Thanks Dennis." Diaper in hand she ran to the kitchen but she was two late. Her daughter was peeing on the kitchen floor. "Catherine Suzanne Angel. You get over here right now."

Catherine's bottom lip stuck out and she began to cry when she heard her mother's stern voice. Cordy immediately felt bad for yelling at her. She ran over and picked her up.

"Baby, mommy is sorry. You just can't run around her like that and mess up mommy's floor." Cordy quickly diapered her daughter and tried to get her ready for bed when there was a knock at the door. "God Dammit" She mumbled as she headed towards the door. She was surprised by who was waiting on the other side.

"What the hell do you want?" Cordy snapped. She was so not in the mood to deal with this.

"I'm leaving town."

"Ok, bye, thanks for stopping and never come back." Cordy replied as she tried to shut the door, but was stopped by a foot.

"I need to apologize." Buffy said softly. She hated apologizing. " I was the one who kissed Angel and I blew the phone calls and visits way out of proportion. I never even knew he was there until he told me about them."

"Apology not accepted."

"Well, I hope that you can work things out with Angel. I now know that you are the one for him."

"Goodbye Buffy." Cordy said as she shut the door. Ten minutes later, Catherine was in her pajamas and Cordy was warming her bottle when there was another knock at her front door. She couldn't believe that Buffy had the nerve to come back.

"Dammit Buffy, I thought I told you to go away." Cordy snapped as whipped open the door, but to her surprise it wasn't Buffy on the other side of the door.


	40. Chapter 40

"What do you want?" She snapped

"You." Angel answered simply

"You had me once and you lost me because you let your dick do the thinking instead of your brain"

"Please, let me explain." He begged her

"No, I don't hear your excuses."

"Fine for now. but just so you know, I'm not giving up. I remember at one time, you fought for us and you won. Now, it's my turn to fight for us and I will win.'

"Don't hold your breath. Oh wait, you don't breathe." She said smartly. She couldn't believe that he was playing her own game, a game that she knew she would win.

"Daddy." Catherine yelled running to the door.

"Chipmunk." Angel said grinning as he bent down, holding out his arms. Cordy sighed. She knew that it would be a long time before Catherine got to bed.

"Thanks a hell of a lot." She muttered

"What now?" He asked as an animated Catherine babbled to her father.

"I almost had her down for the night, and now you have gotten her all wired." She snapped

Angel sighed in frustration. "Can I come in?"

"I'd rather you didn't."

"Do you really want me standing outside holding our daughter?"

"Fine." Cordy sighed as she moved to the side to let Angel pass through. She still hadn't had time to cast the uninvite spell so she was quite surprised when Angel was blocked from entering. She would have found it amusing if he hadn't been holding Catherine at the time. It scared her.

"Dammit Cordy."

"I didn't do it. I guess the invitation became null and void when I moved out and someone else moved in." She said grinning

"Come on Cor."

"Fine. I invite you in."

"Like what you've done with the place." He said looking around at the disaster around him.

"Kiss my ass."

They stood around awkwardly as Catherine ran around the apartment.

"You look exhausted." He said softly coming toward her and she backed away. She wouldn't let him anywhere near her and even though he knew that he deserved it, it was pure torture being so close to her and not being able to touch her.

"I am. I haven't been sleeping well lately. I've a lot of shit on my mind." She said pointedly.

"Let me take Catherine tonight." He desperately missed his daughter.

"No, that's ok. I rather have her here with me."

"I've hardly seen her. I saw her for only any hour yesterday and for a minute today. I miss her. Please let me take her. That way you can get a good night sleep and it will give you time to unpack without her." Angel did have a point even though she hated to admit it.

"Fine, I'll pack her bag." She said as she headed towards her bedroom.

Cordy came out a few minutes later with Catherine's bag and blanket in hand. She handed it to Angel, avoiding touching him at all costs.

"Here is everything that she'll need. I left some bottles and sippy cups back at the hotel. Come here baby and give mommy love." Catherine came over to Cordy and gave her a hug and kiss. "Mommy loves you." She whispered in her hair

"Wuv you mommy." Angel came over and picked her up.

"I'll have her back tomorrow after the sun sets." He said walking to the door.

"Be a good girl." Cordy said softly "Angel?"

"Yeah?" He asked hopefully

"Talk to Connor, try to fix things with him. He needs you." He nodded as he walked out the door.

Once Angel left with Catherine Cordy began the unpleasant but required task of unpacking. She made it for about an hour before she was overcome with loneliness. She tried turning the radio and TV on but it didn't help. She finally gave up and called Fred who was more than happy to come and visit.

Twenty minutes later Fred was at Cordy's door with two bottles of wine. As soon as Cordy opened the door and saw her best friend standing there she burst into tears. Fred immediately jumped into action. She led Cordy to the couch and held her in her arms while she cried. Phantom Dennis thoughtfully brought two wine glasses from the kitchen and poured them each a glass.

"Thanks Dennis." Cordy sniffed once she calmed down. She drank the glass in one gulp and held out the empty glass for a refill and Dennis willing obliged.

"How ya doing Cordy?" Fred knew how miserable her friend was, but she also knew that she hadn't talked about.

"I'm doing horrible Fred."

"Talk to me sweetie."

"This isn't me. I'm a bitch. I don't cry, but now that's all I feel like doing. I hate that I can't stop feeling like this."

"It's totally understandable that you are feeling like this. You had your heart broken."

"The bastard." Cordy muttered and Fred giggled. "He came over tonight telling me that he wants me back and won't give up until were together again."

"How do you feel about that?"

"It would be so easy to forgive all and take him back. I miss his arms around me at night when I sleep, I miss his smile and God, and I miss his kisses. He is a great kisser, but I can't forgive him. He lied to me. He kept secrets from me. He lied to me and he kissed another woman. He broke our trust and I can't forgive that. If you can't trust the person you love, then what the hell is the point?"

"If it helps at all Buffy kissed him first."

"It doesn't. Any normal man in love would of pulled away but what did Angel do? He kissed her back. Not only did he kiss her back, but he kissed her a second time and I saw him do that. Why did he do this to me Fred, why?"

"I don't know Cordelia. I don't know." Fred said softly as Cordy cried and continued drinking. By the time they opened the second bottle, both girls were drunk with very loose tongues.

"Do you know what I gave up for him Fred?" A drunk Cordy asked

"Lot's of things I think." Fred replied giggling, something that she tended to do a lot of when she was drinking

"I gave up SEX, Fred, sex. I like having sex."

"That sucks."

"Hell yeah it does. At least you can have it whenever you want without your husband turning evil."

"Yeah, we do have it a lot."

"So our boy Wes is a go getter huh?" Cordy said smirking

"He always goes for it and gets it."

"God, I wish I was you. I mean not the having sex with Wes part just the having sex part." Both girls laughed at that.

"Well you guys did it once…"

"Twice." Cordy interrupted

"Ok, twice then. Was it good?"

"God, it was amazing."

"I thought that it would be."

"Fred!"

"Well he is over two hundred years old. He has had plenty of time to perfect his technique." Fred giggled

"Oh yeah, his technique is definitely perfect and his equipment surely helped make it that way."

"So he is well-endowed?"

"Biggest that I have ever been with."

"So is Wes."

"So is Wes what?"

"Well endowed." Fred blushed. Wes would die if he knew what they were talking about.

"It's always the quiet ones." Cordy said grinning

"So was there anything else that you guys could do to you know, relive the tension?"

"Lots of oral sex."

"Really, he could and not turn evil."

"Oh yeah because he would only be totally happy inside of me."

"Well that actually makes sense."

"But now I know that it wouldn't of mattered if we did it like bunnies because he didn't love me and he never would of achieved that moment of perfect happiness." Cordy said sadly.

"Oh Cor, I can't believe that's true. I think that he really did love you in his own vampirery way."

"You know what?" Cordy said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm done. I am so done feeling sorry for myself. I'm done crying. I am moving on with my life. I'm not going to live in the past and what might have been. I'm going to live for my daughter and myself. Screw Angel."

"You go girl." Fred said as they hugged each other tightly.


	41. Chapter 41

The first week that Cordy returned to work, was to say the least awkward, between her and Angel. Cordy hid out in her office as much as she possibly could, avoiding Angel at all costs. Within the past year the hotel had been remolded so each employee of Angel Investigations had their own offices with the exception of Gunn and Justine who shared an office. If Cordy received a vision she told Wesley, not Angel about it. They had also come to an unspoken agreement that Catherine spent every other night with one of her parents. Thankfully, she seemed to adjust to this new arrangement with no problems.

--

"Ok, Connor, you need to go out and scope out the nest on High St." Angel instructed and Connor sighed loudly. "Problem son?"

"Yeah, Dad, I'm tired of doing all of the staking." He snapped

"Connor you don't do all of the staking. Everyone does his or her own fair share. I hate to play this card but I'm going to do it anyway. I am your boss and employer. I expect you to show me respect."

"Like you respected Cordy when Buffy was here."

Before Angel could respond Cordy, who had been standing listening to this conversation unfold, grabbed Connor by the ear and drug him into her office, slamming the door behind her.

"Owww, Owww, Owww Cordy. What the hell?" Connor said as he rubbed his ear.

"Listen to me young man. You need to lay off of your father." She said angrily.

"Why should I, after what he did to you?"

"Because of what you just said. It happened to me not you. This doesn't concern you Connor. Now, back off and let your father and I handle this on our own. We don't need you interfering. "

"Cordy, you have been like a sister, maybe even like a mother to me. I love you and I hate him for hurting you like he did."

"What about if the roles were switched and I cheated on Angel? Would you treat me like you are treating him?"

"I don't know. Probably not." He mumbled.

"Double standard. That is why you should be minding your own business." Connor nodded. "Another reason that you need to fix this is because of Ciara."

"Ciara?"

"You know how sensitive she is. All of this tension between you and Angel is really bothering her. Your wedding is just a few weeks away. She doesn't need this added stress so you need to fix this, if not for you then fix it for Ciara."

"I'm sorry Cordy." He said as he walked slowly out of her office.

Cordy sat down in her chair and sighed. She looked up when Angel walked into her office.

"What did you say to him?"

"None of your damn business." She shot at him.

"Jesus, Cor how long are you going to be mad at me?"

"As long as I want to be. Now, please, exit my office."

"I'm so sorry." He whispered as he walked out of her office.

--

"Catherine, come on sweetie time to go to the park. Say bye to daddy and give him love." Catherine responded to her mother and ran over to Angel who picked her up.

"Where are you and mommy going?"

"Park. Swings." She answered happily

"Well you have fun and be a good girl for mommy."

"Good girl." She repeated

"I love you chipmunk." He said as he kissed her

"Wuv you daddy." Angel set her on the ground and she ran over to her mother and grabbed her hand. "Mon mommy. Go."

Angel was becoming increasingly frustrated with his life at this moment in time. He wished that he could walk out into the sun and see his daughter swinging or sliding down the slide. His friends were doing their best to be civil towards him, but he knew that they all were pissed at him and sympathized with Cordy, not that he could blame them. As Fred stated once, Cordy was the heart of Angel Investigations and now it was as if he tore the heart out of the company. She was trying to act like her old self, but she wasn't doing a good job. Her smile wasn't the same. He missed her big beautiful smile so much. Ciara had been avoiding him lately. She looked up to him and he let her down. And then there was Connor. his son. He could see the hatred in his face whenever he looked at him. He tried multiple times to talk to him, but Connor refused to listen. He had the responsibility to show him how to treat and respect the woman that you loved and with everything else right now in his life he screwed that up too. He would give anything in the world to turn back the time. If he could he would of never of lost her. He pulled out his sketchbook and looked sadly at his most recent sketch of Cordy. He heart ached.

"Dad?" Angel looked up and saw Connor standing in his doorway.

"What did you find at the nest?" Angel asked as he quickly closed his sketchbook.

"Small nest, nothing that we can't handle."

"Good job."

"Look…dad…I…" Connor began

"What is it son?"

"I…owe you an apology. I am sorry for the way that I have been treating you."

"You don't need to apologize. I deserved it."

"No, you didn't. Cordy made a valid point while talking with me today. What happened with you guys is just that. It happened between you two, not me. You didn't do anything to me. I just love Cordy so much that I wanted to punish you for hurting her."

"You can't punish me anymore than I have already punished myself. Every time that I see Cordy and Catherine walk out the front door, I hate myself even more."

"Dad…can you fix this?"

"I'm trying, but I don't think so. I screwed everything up so bad. She will never forgive me."

"You can't give up."

"Believe me I'm not." Connor strode over to his father and they both shared a manly hug.

"Oh one more thing dad." Connor said when they broke apart

"What's up?" Connor walked over and motioned out into the hall and Ciara walked in looking at the floor.

"Ciara, sweetie are you ok?" Angel asked. She looked up at Angel with tears streaming down her face.

"Angel, I'm so sorry. I have been treating you horribly."

"Hey, it's ok."

"No, it's not. I was torn. I love Cordy like a sister and she was angry and Connor was angry with you. I was afraid to take sides because I didn't want Connor to be angry or leave me if I was nice to you and I couldn't lose him."

"Ce, it's ok. I understand. I'm not angry with you. I could never be angry with you." Ciara threw herself into Angel's arms and he hugged her tightly.

"Thank you for not hating me." She mumbled into his shirt. Angel gently pulled her away so he could look her in the eye.

"Look, just for the record, in the future when you have an opinion on anything don't be afraid to share it. Everyone may not agree with it but none of us, especially Connor will ever push you away. You are stuck with us forever ok?" Connor nodded as his father spoke.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked shyly

"Anything."

"I know that Connor asked you to be his best man but I was wondering if you would be willing to have two jobs at the wedding?"

"Two jobs?"

"Would you walk me down the aisle? Since my brother isn't here to do it, I think that he would want it to be you." She asked softly

Tears filled Angel's eyes. "I would be honored Ciara."

After they left Angel thought how terrible that it must be for Ciara to be getting married with none of her family here with her. An idea slowly began to form in his brain.

--

By weeks end Cordy was conflicted. She wanted to be at work because she loved her job, she loved helping the helpless, but it was becoming very uncomfortable to be in the same working environment as her ex lover and ex best friend. She missed her lover but more importantly she missed her best friend. She knew that she couldn't forgive him for his failure as her boyfriend but he was always a great friend. She knew that something had to be done.

"Angel, we need to talk. I can't do this anymore." Cordy said as she walked into Angel's office, shut the door and sat down in front of his desk. He felt a surge of hope rise within his chest

"What can't you do anymore?" He asked softly.

"This, us. Avoiding talking about what happened between us. Being miserable."

"What?'

"I will never be able to forgive you for kissing Buffy and your lies. I gave you my trust and most importantly I gave you my heart. I fell in love with you. I gave you everything I had." She said with tears streaming down her face.

"You can't forgive me. Hell, I don't blame you. I can't forgive myself. I know that I have said this before and I know that it doesn't matter now, but baby I am so sorry that I hurt you." He also had tears running down his face. He hated seeing what he did to her.

"Do you know what hurts me the most?" Angel shook his head. "What hurts is knowing that you never loved me like you loved her. We could have made love without that damn potion because being with me would not have led to your moment of perfect happiness. That belongs only to Buffy."

"Cor, no that's not true."

"I don't know why it never occurred to me before that I would always come in second place in the game of loving you. Buffy is the undefeated champion that will always come in first place. I was just her replacement. And Angel, you know me, second place is unacceptable for me." She said softly

"You are right about one thing Cor, I love Buffy. She was my first true love. Most people assume that because I was with Darla for a hundred and fifty years that I loved her, but I was a vampire without a soul. I couldn't love anything but evil. After I got my soul, I stayed away from people for years. When I finally reconnected again with the human race I met Buffy and I fell in love, I turned evil and got sent to hell, returned from hell, left Sunnydale and came to LA to get over and forget Buffy."

"And how did that work out for you?"

"I will never forget her. Most people never forget their first love."

"I've heard that."

"Cor, we started off being friends, then best friends and it blossomed into love. When you fell in love with me you changed my life. You, not Buffy are my one true love. You and I have so much more than Buffy and I ever had. We were friends first and foremost and I think that's why our love was or is so strong. Cordelia, you are my soul. You are inside of me. You own my heart, my whole heart, the way no one ever has before. Believe me, we definitely needed that potion because you and only you are my perfect happiness." Cordy was silent for a moment, tears still flowing. Angel had really poured his heart out to her.

"Why did you keep your visits and phone calls to her from me?"

"The calls started after Catherine was born. You wanted me to call Willow and tell her the news and I did and Buffy happened to be there when I called and I talked to her. It felt good to talk to a friend so I kept calling her. I have no idea why I did, I just did and usually we just talked about Catherine. The visits started after one of our calls. She said that she had recently run into a rough group of vamps so I lied to you and said I was going to investigate something, I don't remember what exactly, and I drove to Sunnydale to make sure she was safe. She never knew that I was there and for some unknown reason, once a month I drove down to make sure things were ok." Talking about his screwups was harder then Angel ever imagined. He hated what this was doing to her but he knew that she needed to know. "I think that I didn't tell you because I didn't want to piss you off and ruin what we had or maybe I didn't want to see you doubt what we had, because I know that you would have. Baby, I have no good reason for not telling you."

"I know that Buffy kissed you first, but why did you kiss her back?" Cordy asked in a broken voice

Angel closed his eyes before answering. "When she kissed me I was shocked, I couldn't respond. When she broke the kiss, my hands were on her face and everything I used to feel for her came rushing back and without thinking I kissed her back, that's what you saw. But what you didn't see was within seconds; I realized that I was kissing the wrong woman. I pulled away and told her that it was a mistake and that you were the only woman that I ever want to kiss."

Cordy stood up and began to pace around the room still crying. She thought that her heart couldn't have hurt anymore but she was wrong. After hearing Angel's side of the story her heart broke all over again.

"Thank you for telling me everything and being honest with me." She said softly

"I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

"I know you are. Angel, I hate what we have become and I worry that eventually my anger towards you may eventually affect Catherine."

"She's strong, like her mom."

"I don't want to fight with you anymore. I miss our friendship."

"So do I Cor, so do I."

"I want us to be friends again."

"I want that too." He whispered

"It may take awhile before things can get close to where we were because of this whole I don't trust you issue, but I'm willing to try."

"Do you think that we will ever get back to…us?"

"Friendship is all I'm willing to offer right now Angel."

"I'll take it." He said as he stood up, came around the desk and stood in front of her. "Can I hug you, just as a friend?'

Cordy nodded and allowed herself to be pulled into his arms. He hugged her tightly and she hugged him back. For both of them it felt so right to be back in each other's embrace.


	42. Chapter 42

Angel and Cordy reluctantly pulled away from each other. It felt like no time at all had passed since they last shared this embrace. Her head fit perfectly on his chest and his arms wrapped perfectly around her waist.

"That was nice." Angel said softly

"I've missed your hugs."

"I've missed hugging you." They both stood looking at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, neither not knowing what to say. Finally Angel broke the silence. "So… umm… Ciara asked me to walk her down the aisle."

"I know, she told me." Cordy said smiling softly at him

"I don't want to do it."

"You think that Doyle should have the honor."

"How did you…?"

"Seer, Demon, crazy powers."

"I need to get in touch with the PTB."

"I had the same idea."

"Did you really?" He didn't know why, but that surprised him.

"As soon as she told me that she asked you, I knew that I had to do something to bring him back for his sister."

"So are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He said with a small smile

"The Oracles." They said at the same time.

"Let's go." She said as the walked out of the door.

--

"Cor, I don't think that you can go with me." Angel told her

"Like hell I'm not. I have been working for them for years. I am a champion just like you." She snapped

"Hey I agree with you. They have rules."

"Fuck the rules. I'm going in with you."

"Whatever you say." Angel said as they were transported to the Oracles.

"What have you brought us?" Number one asked

"This." Cordy said as she handed Number one a necklace.

"Beautiful trinket."

"Why are you here? This haven is for champions only."

"I am a champion because if I wasn't I wouldn't be in this damp cellar like room would I?" She retorted

"You are here to request the presence of another champion for a wedding." Number two stated

"That's correct. We want Doyle to be at his sisters wedding so he can walk her down the aisle. She has no family." Angel explained

"That is impossible. That is not what we do." Number two said

"Whatever. You are the Oracles. You can bring him back." Cordy snapped

"Give us one good reason that we should." Number one said and Number two glared at him.

"He died a hero. He died to save millions of humans. Isn't that what you guys are all about, saving lives. If it weren't for him so many would have died. Doesn't he deserve to give his little sister away and see her married?" Angel stated. He was beginning to get pissed off at the Oracles. They damn well better bring Doyle back.

"His sister is marrying your son. Is that not correct?" Angel nodded "Because of all of the work that you, your son and the seer have done for good we will grant your request." Number one said

"He will arrive at your hotel on the day of the wedding and he will be available for six hours. Any questions?" Number two asked

"Well the wedding starts at 6pm. Will he be there on time?" Cordy asked

"He will arrive before the wedding begins." Number one said and Angel and Cordy nodded their heads. "You are dismissed." The next thing they knew they were back where they started.

"Did that really just happen? Is Doyle really going to be able to walk Ciara down the aisle?" Cordy asked happily.

"It really did and he will be here for Ciara." They both smiled at each other happily.

"Damn it's good to be back." Cordy said as she quickly hugged Angel.

--

The day of Connor and Ciara's wasn't without its problems. Cordy woke up with a vision of a family of demons trying to take over the bodies of a family of humans to live as humans. So of course Wes, Gunn, Angel and Connor went out to kill the demon family while the girls stayed at the hotel getting ready.

"All right girls, have fun. We'll be back shortly." Angel said as they headed out the door.

"Ok Ciara, he's gone." Fred yelled upstairs. She wouldn't come out of her room and risk bad luck having Connor see her before the wedding.

"Are you sure?" She yelled from upstairs.

"Yes." All of the girls yelled at once.

"Ok, let's go get our hair done." Cordy said

"I can't believe that I am getting married today." Ciara said to Cordy as they sat in the chairs at the beauty parlor.

"I am so happy for you sweetie." Cordy said as she reached over and squeezed her hand.

"I just wish that Allan was here for this." It took everything that Cordy had not to spill her secret. Her and Angel decided not to tell Ciara that Doyle would be there, mainly because they didn't want to get her hopes up then have TPTB change their mind.

"I know sweetie. I know."

"I worry about him. Every time that he goes out to kill something I get worried that he won't come back to me. How the hell did you do it when you and Angel were together?"

"I think that it helped me because before Catherine was born, I used to be with him during the fights. And it's not only Angel that I worry about because I love everyone. Everyone that works for Angel are my family so honey, I worry about them every time that they go fight evil. I think that only reason that I haven't totally lost my mind is because I know how good everyone is at what they do."

"Does it get easier?"

"The worry, no it won't get easier, especially since you're in love. You'll worry every time that Connor goes out but I promise you that he will always do the his best to come home to you."

--

"God, Connor, I can't believe how grown up you look in your tux." Angel said as he adjusted Connor's bow tie.

"I'm 21 dad."

"I know. Believe me I know. I am so proud of you. Now, you better take care of her."

"I love her dad. I will take care of her always." Father and son shared a hug.

"Ok, I'm going to check on the bride. Stay here."

"Believe me, I don't want to endure Ciara's wrath." Connor said smiling.

--

"You look amazing." Cordy whispered with tears in her eyes.

"You don't think that it's too much?" Ciara asked as she looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a simple white gown covered in sequin. She had a very small train. She choose not to wear a veil. Her normally straight dark hair was full of curls, and piled on top of her head.

"It's perfect." Cordy said softly. "I have something for you." She handed Ciara a box.

Ciara carefully opened the box and found a beautiful blue sapphire necklace and matching earrings.

"Cor, it's beautiful." Ciara said with tears falling down her cheeks.

"Hey, don't cry. You'll ruin your makeup that I worked so hard on."

"I…just…you shouldn't have."

"Of course I should have. You are like the sister that I have never had. Besides, you needed something new and blue and here is something borrowed." Cordy handed Ciara a bracelet that Angel had gotten her on their first anniversary.

"Thank you."

"Ok, you have something old, your ankle bracelet, something new and blue, the necklace and earrings, and something borrowed, my bracelet. You are ready to go sweetie." Cordy said as there was a knock at the door. Ciara paled.

"Don't worry. I'll get it." Cordy opened the door and saw Angel standing there.

"Can I come in?" Cordy opened the door and allowed Angel to step into the room.

"Ciara, you look beautiful. Connor is one lucky man." Angel said

"No, I'm the lucky one." Ciara whispered

"Cor, can I see you out in the hall?" Angel asked

"Ciara, will you be ok?" She nodded "I'll be right back."

"Anything yet?" Cordy asked as soon as they were out in the hall.

"Not yet."

"Shit, what time is it?"

"Five minutes till."

"He should be here. I swear to God, if they don't let him show I will never help them again."

"Relax Cor, let's go wait downstairs for him. We can stall if we need too."

"Ok, you're right." She said as they headed downstairs to the lobby.

"By the way Cordelia, you look amazing." As he looked at her, he had a strong desire to take off that beautiful green dress that hugged her body in all the right places, and cover her naked skin with his mouth.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." In Cordy's opinion, he looked smoking hot in his tux.

"Any sign of him yet?" Angel asked as they entered the lobby.

"Any sign of who?" Said a familiar voice with an Irish accent. Angel and Cordy spun around and came face to face with an old friend.

"Doyle." Cordy yelped as she ran over to him and threw herself into his outstretched arms.

"Cordelia Chase." Doyle said as he hugged her tightly. As Angel stood back and watched this reunion unfold, a feeling of jealousy washed over him. He knew how Doyle and Cordy felt about each other. Granted, Doyle was basically a ghost, but hell a lot could happen in six hours. He fondly remembered what he and Cordy accomplished in less than two hours.

"You look better than I remember." Doyle said as he pressed his lips to Cordy's.


	43. Chapter 43

Angel couldn't stand watching Doyle kiss his woman any longer, even though she technically wasn't his woman anymore. He loudly cleared his throat and the old friends broke apart.

"Angel, man how the hell are you?" Doyle said after he finally noticed his old friend standing there.

"Doyle, it's great to see you again." The two friends shared a manly embrace.

"Wow, it looks like those rats that you have been charging really have paid off." Doyle said grinning as he looked around the hotel.

"Rates you dumbass." Cordy said as she playfully punched Doyle on the arm.

"Mommy, daddy look." Catherine yelled as she ran up to her parents carrying a cookie.

"Mommy and daddy?" Doyle said as he raised his eyebrows and looked back and forth between his two old friends.

Cordy picked up Catherine who was dressed up in her beautiful white flower girl dress. "Doyle, this is our daughter Catherine"

"Man Angel I'm sorry. I didn't know." Doyle said clearly embarrassed.

"Don't be. We aren't together anymore." Cordy said and the three of them stood there awkwardly until Cordy broke the silence. "Hey which one of you dorks gave my daughter a cookie when she is already in her dress?" She broke away from Doyle and Angel and headed over to their friends.

"So you and Cordelia and a baby huh? How did that happen?"

"Let's just say that it was a gift from the PTB."

"Well I'm getting the impression that the we aren't together part is one sided."

"You can say that. So how about meeting everyone?" Angel said trying desperately trying to change the subject.

"I'm glad to see that you finally took my advice and integrated with the human race." Doyle said grinning.

"Well I didn't intentionally go out and make friends. They all found me and I haven't gotten rid of them."

"I'm proud of you man." Doyle said sincerely and Angel introduced him to all of his friends. After the introductions were made Cordy handed Catherine off to Fred with strict instructions not to feed her any more cookies.

"So Doyle would you like to meet your future brother in-law." Cordy asked him and he nodded and they all headed upstairs.

"I can't believe that you have children let alone one old enough to marry my sister."

"Well technically he is only three but the whole Cortax thing caused him to age much faster."

"Creepy." Doyle said as they stopped in front of a room. Cordy knocked and the door flew open.

"Shouldn't we be getting started? It's after six." Connor asked nervously. Suddenly he began to panic. "Oh shit, she changed her mind didn't she?"

"Relax Connor, she didn't change her mind. We have someone that you need to meet." Cordy said

"Who, I know everyone that is here."

"Not Ciara's brother."

"Cor, he's dead."

"Yes, son he is but The PTB agreed to let him be here for your wedding." Angel pulled Doyle into the room. "Doyle, my son Connor."

"Can we have a minute alone please?" Doyle asked his friends and they backed out of the room.

"So you're the one that my sister loves huh?"

"Uhh yes sir." Connor stuttered

"How do you feel about her?"

"I love her very much."

"Good, you better. Ciara is an amazing woman. I can tell that she loves you."

"You can tell?"

"Yeah, I am allowed to watch her and I have been. You make her very happy. Let's make sure you keep it that way because if you hurt her, I will know and I will make sure that you pay. Do you hear me?" Connor nodded. "Good, so I will see you at the wedding." Doyle walked out of the room grinning.

"You threatened him?" Cordy squeaked

"You were eavesdropping?" Doyle asked

"Well yeah." And Doyle had no response. It was Cordy after all.

"I want to see Ciara now." And they led him down the hall.

"Give us a minute." Cordy whispered as she went into the room followed by Angel.

"Cordy, Angel why haven't we started yet? Did he change his mind?"

"Of course not sweetie. We are going to get started here shortly. Angel and I have one more gift for you." Cordy explained

"I wish you guys wouldn't have. You have already given me so much."

"Ciara, it's not that type of gift. Cordy and I contacted The Powers That Be and asked them to allow your brother to come back and walk you down the aisle and they agreed." Angel explained and Ciara's eyes grew wide.

"Allan, is here? Alive?"

"Technically no he's not but tonight he is, for you." Cordy said softly and tears fell from Ciara's eyes. "Would you like to see him?" Ciara nodded and Angel walked over and opened the door and Doyle stepped inside. Ciara clapped a hand over her mouth and Doyle had tears rolling down his face as well. Angel and Cordy discreetly walked out of the room

"Ciara I have missed you so much." He took a tentative step towards his sister.

"Allan is it really you?" He nodded and she threw her arms around her brother.

"Little sister, you look absolutely beautiful and so grown up."

"That happens when you go away. Why Allan, why did you have to die?" Doyle knew that was coming he just hadn't expected it so soon.

"I did what I had to do princess." Ciara smiled. That was what he always called her and she had missed hearing it. "Angel was going to do it, but it wasn't his time yet. He still had so much more good to accomplish and in fact he still does. I had done all the good that I was supposed to do and I did a lot that night. Princess, I saved thousands of lives that day. Yours too."

"I missed you so much and you left me all alone with no one that loved me."

"Princess, I know that. That was one of the last thoughts that I had but I knew that it would be hard for you but I knew that you had the strength to make it and look at you, you did make it. You are now working for The Powers That Be. You are helping keep people safe. You found a new family with Cordelia and Angel. They will always love you and be there for you and princess you also found the love of your life in Connor. I can see how much he loves you and how much you love him. Treasure that love always." Doyle whispered as he pulled his sister into his arms again.

"I am so glad that you are here."

"So am I princess, so am I. So let's say that we get you cleaned up and get you married."

"How long will you be here?"

"A few hours."

"I guess that will have to do." Doyle opened the door and motioned Cordy back in.

"She needs some last minute girly stuff and then she is ready."

"Ok, give us five minutes and we will have ourselves a wedding."

--

Five minutes later, everyone was ready and waiting for the wedding to begin. Connor and Angel standing at the front of the lobby and Catherine, Cordy, Ciara and Doyle were getting ready to proceed.

"Ok, Catherine, here are your flowers." Cordy handed her a small basket filled with rose petals. They all knew that Catherine probably wouldn't do the job correctly and she could hardly be expected to. She wasn't even two yet but it was the thought that counted. "Now take them down to see daddy ok?"

"K mommy" Catherine still hadn't quite mastered the stairs so she sat down and slid down them. As soon as Lorne saw her he began to sing. When she reached the bottom of the steps she saw her father and ran over to him. "Here daddy." She said as she handed him the basket. Everyone laughed.

"No baby those are yours. Now go sit with Auntie Fred." Angel gently instructed

"No stay you." His stubborn daughter replied and Angel didn't press the issue. He didn't want a temper tantrum during her brother's wedding.

Everyone looked at the top of the stairs as Cordelia descended. Angel thought that he had never seen her look so beautiful before. She smiled at everyone as she passed them and came to her final stopping place across from Angel on the other side of Connor. She smiled softly at him. Lorne's song suddenly changed and Ciara and Doyle emerged. Now she was a vision and everyone oohhed and aahhed at her beauty and Doyle grinned proudly. Angel looked over at his son who had tears running down his face, as did his fiancé.

The ceremony went by quickly and without a problem. When they were announced to be husband and wife and they shared their first kiss the lobby erupted in applause and congratulations. They quickly ate dinner and then the partying began. Everyone had helped clear the lobby and turned it into a giant dance floor, with Lorne himself providing the music. They had also hired the bartenders that used to work for Lorne and they set up a bar behind the front desk.

Lorne was singing another slow song for what seemed like the thousandth time that night and again Angel was standing in the back watching everyone dancing with everyone else but him. Connor was dancing with Fred and Wes was dancing with Ciara. Of course Justine and Gunn were together and Doyle and Cordy were dancing together, a little to close for Angel's liking but then again, he had no say in who she danced with or how. He was brought out of his funk by a little voice.

"Daddy, up." As Angel picked up his daughter, an idea popped into his head.

"Do you want to dance with Daddy?"

"Dance daddy." She said happily and Angel carried her out to the dance floor and began twilling her around in his arms and she giggled happily. Doyle and Cordy watched them from where they were dancing.

"She adores him and I can tell the feeling is mutual." Doyle observed

"He is a great dad to both Catherine and Connor."

"I know that it shouldn't but it does surprise me that he is a good father."

"Why, because when you were here his favorite pastime was brooding." They both laughed and continued their dance.

Angel felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around and came face to face with his son.

"I know that somebody will be going to bed soon so I thought that I would cut in and dance with my sister before her bedtime. Catherine, do you want to dance with me?"

"Dance Ner." She said happily and Angel passed Catherine to her brother.

"Hey dad, I know how much you love hanging by yourself back by the wall but I think that your daughter in-law would appreciate a dance with you." Connor said with a wink then he turned his attention to his sister.

Ciara was standing at the bar with Justine having a drink when Angel walked over to her.

"Ciara would you care to dance with your father in-law?" She grinned happily and held out her hand and Angel led them to the dance floor.

"Angel, should I call you dad now?"

"If you want to but I've always been partial to Angel." He said smiling at her

"I'm partial to Angel too." She said giggling. They danced in silence for a minute or so until Ciara broke it. "Thank you so much for pleading Allan's case and bringing him back for my wedding." She whispered

"You and Doyle both deserved it. I hope that you know that I will always be here for you if you ever need anything Ciara."

"I know that and I hope that you know that I really love Connor."

"I know that sweet girl. I love you Ciara."

"I love you too Angel." They both hugged tightly when the song ended. "Thanks for the dance."

"My pleasure." Angel said as he kissed her on the cheek. He then heard his daughter throwing a fit and decided that it was time for bed. He took her from Connor and walked up to Cordy and Doyle. "Hey someone here wants to day goodnight."

"Excuse me for a minute Doyle." Cordy said and she led Angel to the stairs. "Let's put her to bed together. It's been a long time and I think that she will like that." She looked at Catherine whose head was lying on his shoulder and she was twirling her hair around her finger.

"I think that sounds good." He whispered as they walked up the stairs.

Ten minutes later Catherine was sound asleep. She couldn't even stay awake long enough for a bedtime story.

"She was so good today." Cordy said as she softly closed Catherine's bedroom door.

"She is a trooper like her mom."

"Today was perfect for Connor and Ciara wasn't it?" Angel nodded and they continued their journey back to the lobby.

"Ok folks, this is the last song. Grab a partner and say goodnight, just please keep it clean." Lorne said. Everyone coupled up again with the exception of Angel. It was almost time for Doyle to leave so he wanted one last dance with his sister. Once his wife was taken Connor grabbed Cordy and drug her out to the floor.

"Are you happy princess?" Doyle asked

"Very. Are you? Wait that is a stupid question. You're dead."

"Believe it or not I am happy. I'm happy knowing that my sister is in love and married. I hate that I'm not here with you but I will always being watching over you."

"I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to either but my time is up. One more thing princess, don't hid your demon part like I did. It's something to be proud of. It's a part, a very important part of who you are." Ciara nodded with tears in her eyes. "Promise me."

"I promise."

"I love you princess."

"I love you too Allan." They hugged tightly and he kissed her. He then led her over to Connor and Cordy. "Hey boy, you really should be dancing this last dance with your wife." Cordy gracefully walked over and stood by Angel. "Take care of her Connor. I will be watching." Connor reached out and shook Doyle's hand.

"I will." Connor said as he pulled his wife into his arms for their final dance of the evening.

Doyle looked around. Everyone was engrossed in conversation so for the man who hates goodbyes, he slipped out the door without anyone noticing. He stood outside the door with tears streaming down his face watching his sister glide across the dance floor with her husband until he evaporated.

--

"Would you like to dance?" Angel asked when Cordy came over and stood next to him.

Cordy hesitated for a second and then shrugged her shoulders. "Why not, it's the last one of the evening."

They joined hands and walked out onto the dance floor. They easily fell into each other's arms. Cordy's hands were wrapped around his neck and she laid her head on his shoulder and his hands were wrapped around her waist. They both missed this closeness. Cordy had just closed her eyes when she heard Angel's voice.

"Thank you for creating this amazing day for Connor and Ciara and helping me get Doyle back."

"You helped too. I didn't do it on my own." She raised her head and looked around the room. "Where is Doyle by the way?"

Angel looked around the room and realized that he was gone. "He left. You know how he is. He wouldn't have wanted his last memory of today to be of Ciara or you crying."

Cordy looked up at Angel and he saw that she was indeed crying. Before he could stop himself he leaned down and pressed his lips to her. She unconsciously responded to his kiss and she kissed him back slowly and gently. His hands tightened around her waist and her fingers were running through his hair. When her brain finally caught up with her lips and heart she quickly pulled back and pushed him away.

"Angel, we can't do this." She whispered.

"Admit it, you enjoyed it." He whispered back. Neither of them wanted Connor or Ciara to overhear this on their special day.

"That is beside the point. I'm not ready for that kind of relationship with you Angel. I might not ever be ready again. For God's sake we aren't even back to the same type of friendship that we had three years ago Angel. How can you expect more? I'm sorry but friendship is all that I'm willing to give you right now. Take it or leave it."

"I'll take it." He said sadly.

"Good, and don't ever try that stunt again." She said as she walked away from him.


	44. Chapter 44

Over the next couple of months life continued on for everyone employed at Angel Investigations. Fred and Wesley announced that they were expecting a baby in the next seven months, so that left Fred out of the field and in total research mode. Justine and Gunn had gotten married. They had been dating for over a year with no commitment. Justine told Gunn that she was tired of just dating and wanted a commitment. Three hours later they were married at the city courthouse by a Justice of the Peace. Their friends didn't even know that a wedding had taken place until they saw the simple matching gold bands on each of their fingers. Lorne was continuing to see clients to read their destiny on a daily basis. He had come to truly love helping people and demons and occasionally there was always a dumb demon that sang away his destiny to kill or mame someone or something and that would ultimately end his life by the staff of AI.

Connor and Ciara had gone to Ireland for their honeymoon. Ciara wanted Connor to see the country that she had grown up in and Connor had wanted to see and experience part of his legacy. They had actually found the grave markers of Liam and his family, whom Angelus killed. They had taken pictures but Angel had politely refused to see them. Just because it was Angelus that killed them it didn't make the guilt that his soul provided any less, especially when he thought about Kathy, his precious little sister. She was just a child, an innocent child, who did nothing but adore and trust that her big brother could do no wrong. It was her trust in him, her trust and childlike belief that he was an angel who had come back to her. He had come back to her all right but not in the way that she had hoped. He had come back to kill her. Every time that he looked at his precious daughter, he felt that he was looking at a small part of Kathy. While doing research Connor discovered that his aunt's name was spelled with a K and his sister was spelled with a C so Angel had to explain that Cordy thought that it would be cute to spell her name with a C because she would have the same first initial as her brother and mother.

Angel and Cordy had no romantic progress over these past few months. Cordy was pissed at him for kissing her at the wedding but she let it go relatively quickly. At one point she demanded an apology from him for crossing the line that she had drawn but he refused to apologize for something that he was not sorry for doing. Cordy was now talking about finding a new place to live. A one-bedroom apartment was not really the best place in the world to be with an almost two year old that was always running all over the place.

Angel walked into Cordy's office as she was cussing out the classified ads that were sitting on her desk. "What did the paper do to piss you off?"

"Have you looked at the prices that this town charges for rent on a two bedroom? No of course you haven't. Well let me tell you, it's highway robbery. Oh sure, there are two bedrooms that I can afford on what you call a salary that you pay me, but I am not in the mood to move back into something as bad if not worse than the cockroach infested place I called my first apartment." She rambled.

"Cor, you can always move back here. You won't have to pay anything."

"No Angel I can't. I don't want to confuse Catherine."

"It won't confuse her. We obviously wouldn't share a room. There are so many suites here in this hotel. You and Catherine could have one of them on a different floor."

"I appreciate the offer Angel, but no thanks. I need to be able to do this on my own."

"You don't have to do this on your own Cor. For one reason, I'm Catherine's farther and I will do everything to make sure that she and her mother are provided for. And besides we're friends and friends support each other." Cordy had to admit, he did make a good point but before she could respond, Ciara knocked at her office door.

"What's up Ce?'

"The realtor is here in the lobby."

"Realtor?" Angel asked her softly.

"I'm going to go look at a few apartments. When we spoke on the phone, he insisted that I could afford them. I highly doubt it, but it never hurts to look." She grabbed her purse and headed out the door, but before she left she stopped and looked back at Angel. "I'll think about what you said ok?"

Angel followed her out to the lobby. He had meant every word that he had told her about supporting her and Catherine, but he hoped like hell that she wouldn't find another apartment. He really wanted his whole family back under one roof. He stood back and watched this realtor that Cordy was meeting. He immediately had a severe dislike of this blond haired ogre. He actually had the nerve to oogle her backside when she bent down to pick Catherine up. When Cordy introduced her daughter to Drew he physically backed away from Catherine. It took every ounce of self-control not to send this asshole flying across the room.

"Daddy." Catherine yelled from her mother's arms when she saw her father standing there. Angel quickly headed down the stairs and took his daughter in his arms.

"This is Catherine's father Angel. Angel this is Drew." Both men shook hands.

"Nice to meet you." Angel said politely.

"Okay, Drew, take me to go see those apartments." Cordy quickly said sensing that things were about to get awkward between the two men in the lobby. "We'll be back soon."

Soon turned out to be two hours later. Angel and Catherine were coloring at his desk when Drew and Cordy walked into the lobby, arms linked and laughing.

"Hey you guys." Cordy said as she walked into his office.

"Mommy, color."

"I see that baby. You are doing a great job." Catherine smiled at her mom. "Angel, I know that it's my night with Catherine, but something came up and I was wondering if you could keep her tonight?"

"Cor you don't have to ask me to keep my own daughter. Of course she'll stay. This is her home."

"Thank you, you're a doll." She kissed him on the cheek.

"What's going on?"

"Drew asked me out to dinner, and we may be late and I don't want to wake Catherine to take her home."

"Dinner with Drew? Are you sure about that?"

"Angel, don't start. Its just dinner."

"I know that it's none of my business, but I don't like him. I don't like the way he looks at you or how he acts around Catherine."

"You're right. It's none of your business." She was pissed. "We are just friends. It may end up turning into something more, but for tonight its just dinner with a friend. So back off."

Angel knew that he probably pushed her too far so he quickly changed the subject. "So, how did the apartment hunt go?"

"No go. Way out of my price range." She walked over to Catherine and kissed her. "Be a good girl. I'll see you in the morning. I love you."

"Love ya."

--

"So you and the boss man huh?" Drew asked Cordy as their dessert arrived. That question had been burning in his mind since he was introduced to Catherine.

"What makes you think that he is the boss?"

"The name, Angel Investigations. Catherine's father is Angel. It was a pretty easy conclusion to jump to."

"Well we were at one point but now we are just two friends raising a child together."

"Friends" Drew almost spit out his drink. "How is that possible?"

"We were best friends before we became romantically involved. After we split we remained friends."

"So what kind of business that you guys run?" Drew asked, not wanting to discuss his date's past lover.

"Oh trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." She said smiling

"Try me." He really didn't care what kind of work she did. He was just thinking about the job she could do on him in bed.

"Let's just say we deal with the supernatural."

"Like aliens and stuff?"

"More emphasis on the stuff." She said smiling.

Drew began rambling on about his boring job but Cordy tuned him out. This date had been a very bad idea and as much as she hated to admit it, she should have listened to Angel. Besides the fact that he couldn't remove his eyes from her breasts, he was very shallow, superficial and seemed only to think of himself. He reminded her of herself before her visions. He also didn't warm up to Catherine very well. He basically blew her off. She had hoped that if this date had turned out better than it had so far, then he would warm up to her little girl but so far Cordy was not seeing a second date in her future. Thankfully, it was over soon enough.

"So Cordy, I had a great time." He said smiling at her breasts.

"Thanks so did I." She said through clenched teeth,

"So maybe we can do this again sometime?"

_HELL NO_ "You know, I 'm going to be real busy at work. I've got some major projects coming up that will take up a lot of time."

Before she knew what was happening Drew leaned in and kissed her. His tongue was forced its way into her mouth. She had already unlocked her door and he pushed her into her apartment. His hands ripped open her shirt and ripped her bra down, exposing her breasts. His filthy hands were all over them, pinching and squeezing them. Tears sprung into her eyes. When the surprise finally faded seconds later, she reacted. She lifted her knee and nailed him in his already hard penis. He backed away gasping in pain.

"Bitch." He hissed. Before he could react she quickly punched him as hard as she could in the face, feeling bone crushing beneath her fist.

"Get the fuck out of my apartment NOW." She screamed and he ran out the door.

Cordy wiped the tears from her cheek, went into her bedroom, changed her clothes, packed an overnight bag, got into her car and drove to the one person that she could always count on, her best friend.

--

Angel was very engrossed in a novel when he heard a soft taping on his bedroom door. Sighing, because he was right in the middle of a fight to the death scene, he went to answer the door, book in hand. As soon as he saw Cordy's tear stained face, the book fell to the floor. He quickly pulled her into the room.

""Catherine?" She asked.

"Sound asleep. She has been out for a couple of hours." She nodded as the tears snuck out of her eyes. He led her to a chair so she could sit. "Cor, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Drew…You were right about him."

"Did he hurt you?" He would kill the son of a bitch if he laid a hand on her.

"Not as much as I hurt him." She began to sob.

"Cordelia?" He soothed. She finally began talking after a minute.

"He kissed me hard… He pushed me into my apartment… Ripped my shirt and bra…his hands…everywhere."

"I'll kill him."

"Angel, no you won't. He's human.

"Cordy, he hurt you."

"I'm not hurt. Just shaken up. Besides, it's not necessary. I kneed him pretty hard and I think I broke some part of his face when I punched him. He probably wishes he was dead right about now." She smiled sadly.

"I'm so sorry Cor, I should have been there to protect you."

"I am used to being afraid of demons and vampires, but not of humans. Why the hell do we risk our lives to save losers like him?"

"Not all humans are as rotten as Drew is."

Cordy didn't respond. Instead she went in to kiss her daughter and just be in the presence of innocence. Ten minutes later she joined Angel back in his room.

"Look, if your offer still stands, I would like to move back in."

"Of course it still stands."

"How about right now? I just don't want to go back in my apartment tonight."

"Right now is perfect. We just happen to have a few vacancies right at the moment." He smiled his wonderful Angel smile and Cordy threw herself into his strong and safe arms. She always felt safe in his arms.

"I love you Angel. Thank you for being my friend."

"I will always be your friend." He whispered, as they pulled apart. "Look it's late so you sleep in here tonight close to Catherine and I'll grab a room across the hall. Then tomorrow you can pick out one of the suites."

"Are you sure? I don't want to put you out of your own room."

"It's no problem. You get ready for bed and I'll make you a cup of tea to help you relax." She nodded and headed to the bathroom and he headed to the kitchen. A few minutes later he was back in his room with a mug of hot tea and she was curled up already fast asleep, or so he thought. He set the cup down on the nightstand next to the bed and gently kissed her forehead.

"Sleep tight." He whispered. When he reached the door he heard her soft voice.

"Don't go."

"What?" He couldn't have heard her right. Hope soared through his body.

"I just don't want to be alone. Not tonight. I think that I will sleep better knowing that you're in the same room with me."

_Damn, same room, not same bed._ "Of course Cordy, I'll stay." Being the always-reliable friend that he was, he pulled a chair next to his bed. He stretched out his long legs and reached over and took one of Cordy's hands and thankful that despite all of the hurt and pain that he caused her, he still had his best friend. Granted he wanted more than a friendship but he knew that he would probably never get that back. Sighing he closed his eyes and fell asleep with memories of the two of them when they were a couple.


	45. Chapter 45

"I like this one." Cordy said as she looked around the suite.

"Are you sure? Because if you're not we can go look at the suites again for the fourth time." Angel said smiling.

She punched him playfully in the shoulder. "Very funny. Yes this is the one that I want. Can we get one of the single beds from another room into Catherine's room?' They had been looking at rooms all morning and Cordy had been unable to make a decision until now.

"Cor, do you think that she is ready for a regular size bed?"

"She sleeps in my bed by herself with no problem. That was one of the reasons that I want to get a bigger place because she needs her own space, her own bed. Trust me she is a wild woman in her sleep. You have no idea what is like to sleep with kicking and hitting all night long."

"Believe me, I know." Angel said with a wink.

"Come, on I was not that bad."

"Shall I count how many times that I was elbowed by you?"

"Ok, new subject."

"I'll have Gunn and Connor move a bed into the room."

"I feel really bad leaving Phantom Dennis again. He always scares new people out of the apartment."

"I know a couple that is thinking about getting their own place. They are newly married but they are living with family."

"Ciara and Connor?"

"How did you guess?"

"You have no friends other than those of us that work in this hotel."

"That hurts."

"Truth does. So they want to move out?' Angel nodded. "Can't really blame them. It might be hard to be spontaneous when you live with a bunch of other people. I know that they have their own suite but hell, they are newlyweds and we all know what newlyweds like to do."

"Cordelia, please that's my son you're talking about." He looked paler then normal.

"Oh suck it up daddy, He is a grown man who does have sex." She loved the effect that this conversation was having on Angel.

"Anyways, they have been looking but everything nice is so expensive and they don't want to get over their heads financially."

"Well I think that I can help them. I can afford the rent, especially since I'm moving back here so I will just keep paying the rent and they can move in"

"Nope. No way." Angel said.

"WHAT? Why wouldn't you want to help your son and daughter in-law?" She was pissed of at him.

"Cordy, relax. I do want to help them but I can't let you pay the rent by yourself. I want to help because as you mentioned, we are family."

"Well you should have said that dumbass. Now I got all pissed off for no reason"

"There is only one problem with this idea."

"And what would that be genius?"

"There is no way in hell that they will allow us to pay their rent. They will both see it as charity."

"I'll lie to them and tell them that I have paid the rent for a year in advance."

"You are brilliant."

"Yes I know, now let's go get my shit back here." She said grinning.

--

"Cordy, the dishes in the kitchen, are they going?" Angel yelled to Cordy who was in her room packing.

"No they stay." She yelled back. "God Dammit Dennis. Stop unpacking my stuff."

"Is he giving you grief?" Angel said grinning as he walked into her bedroom.

"Yes, I have packed this suitcase three times already."

"Dennis, we explained this to you already. My son and his wife will move in here. You will still see Cordy and Catherine." The suitcase was quickly repacked. "Good. Holler if he gives you anymore trouble."

Angel walked back into the living room and came face to face with Drew.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He growled

"The door was open." Drew answered nervously

"What are you doing here?" Angel repeated

"I need to talk to Cordelia about last night. I think that she may have misunderstood my intentions." Angel walked over and stood right in front of him, their noses inches apart.

"Misunderstood? You ripped her shirt off and put your hands where they didn't belong. If I hadn't trained her to defend herself you would have raped her."

"Rape. Are you kidding me? You should have seen what she was wearing. She wanted a piece of me and she just chickened out at the last minute." Drew said smugly.

"You sorry son of a bitch." Angel couldn't help himself and Drew was quickly introduced to the vampire side of Angel who threw him across the room.

"Oh shit, you're a …" He never got to finish his sentence because Angel began punching him.

Cordy heard the commotion from her room and rushed in and saw Angel pummeling Drew. She ran over and tried to pull him off of Drew.

"Angel." She screamed. "Stop it." She was trying her best to break this up. When the screaming failed she grabbed a lamp and hit him over the head with it.

"Dammit Cordy." He said as he grabbed the back of his head checking for blood.

"Are you insane? You could have killed him. He is human Angel, granted a sorry excuse, but human nonetheless and you don't kill humans." She yelled at him

"He said that you wanted it." Cordy whirled around and looked at Drew.

"You have a lot to learn asshole. You are the most arrogant man that I have ever met. I didn't want you then or ever. Now, I suggest that get the hell out of my apartment and life before I let my friend here kill you."

"He's a …"

"Vampire yes, so you can imagine how he will kill you if either of us ever see you again." Drew ran out of the apartment with a wet spot on his pants Cordy happily noted

"What the fuck were you thinking Angel? You could have killed him." She shouted at him.

"He disrespected you." He said simply. He wasn't sorry for what he did.

"What am I going to do with you?" She kissed him gently on the cheek. "Thanks for defending my honor."

"Always."

--

"Ok Catherine, tell daddy goodnight."

"Night daddy." Catherine whispered

"Night chipmunk. Sleep tight." Angel said as Cordy carried her daughter up to her new room. They had decided that even though they were now living together in the hotel, they would continue the arrangement of Catherine spending every other night with each parent. They wouldn't be putting her bed together.

"Ok baby, sleep good and mama will see you in the morning."

"Mommy, sleep you." Catherine said as she climbed out of her new bed.

"No baby, you get to sleep here in your new big girl bed."

"No sleep you." Cordy was afraid that this would happen. Catherine had been sleeping with Cordy since they had moved out because she only had one room with only enough room for one bed. Now she was so used to sleeping with her mother that she didn't want to sleep without her.

"Catherine, you are a big girl and you need to sleep in your big girl bed." Cordy kissed her daughter and closed the bedroom door. Seconds later she heard Catherine crying.

"Mommy." She cried. "MOMMY." She screamed. Cordy opened the door silently picked her up and placed her back in bed,

"Catherine, you will be ok. No go to sleep."

"No mommy no." Catherine hit her mother.

"Catherine Suzanne Angel, you don't hit."

"NO." She screamed and hit her again.

"CATHERINE, that was bad. Now tell mommy that you're sorry."

"Sorry." She mumbled through her tears. Cordy placed her back in bed and the screaming started again as soon she shut the door and thus the battle between mother and daughter began.

The battle was still going on thirty minutes later when Angel came into the room because he heard the screaming. Cordy was sitting on the bed with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I don't know what to do. Does she do this with you?" She asked softly when Angel walked into her room.

"No but maybe because she hasn't sleep with me in my bed."

"Great, I haven't been her mother for two years and I've already screwed her up."

"Cor, I'm sure that this normal for her age."

"She won't stop crying. I keep putting her back in bed but she keeps getting out and screaming. I'm ready just to put her back in bed with me."

"Don't do that. The book says that if you keep picking her up and showing her attention she will keep throwing the fit. Just let her cry her self into exhaustion and she will fall asleep and once she does that, you can put her into bed."

"Book?"

"I'm reading a parenting book." Angel said proudly

"I hate hearing her like this."

"It will be ok." A few minutes later the crying had subsided. It was still present but not nearly as loud.

"I think it's working." She said through closed eyes. She was lying on her bed.

"You doubted me?" Angel asked her in mock shock.

"Of course not."

Twenty minutes later Angel came back in to check on his girls. He found Cordy sound asleep in the exact position that he left her in. He quietly went to check on Catherine who was lying on the floor holding her favorite bear. He gently picked her up and put her in bed. He then grabbed a quilt and covered Cordy up and kissed her forehead.

"I love you." He whispered.

--

The lobby was filled with balloons, streamers, and presents. Today was Catherine's second birthday and Cordy had spent weeks planning her party.

"No. Mine." Catherine yelled. Cordy sighed and headed into the lobby. She has been hearing those words coming out of her daughter's mouth a lot lately. This time Fred was arranging the gifts on the table because they kept falling over and Catherine was yelling at her.

"Catherine. Stop that right now. Auntie Fred is just helping," Catherine sulked away from the table. "Sorry about my rude daughter Fred." Cordy apologized

"Oh please, she is two years old. This is just preparing me for my little one." Fred said smiling as she patted her tiny bump.

"Come on baby, let's go find Daddy." Cordy reached out and took her hand.

"No." Catherine yelled and she hit her mother.

"Catherine. You do not hit." Cordy scolded. She reached out her hand and her stubborn daughter hit her again. "That's it young lady. Time out."

"No." Catherine yelled and attempted to run from her mother but Cordy was too quick. She picked her up and marched her over to her time out spot. According to the book that Angel was reading it suggested that she have one particularly spot that her time outs would occur on and over the past few weeks, Catherine had been spending a lot of time there. The book also suggested that she sits in time out for as many minutes as per her age and she never realized how long two minutes could be.

"MOMMY." Catherine wailed as she was plopped into her time out.

"Someone being bad again." Angel asked

"Hitting." Cordy said as Catherine continued to scream and cry. "She is going to hate me."

"No she won't."

"Promise?" She asked him with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah I promise." He said as he hugged her encouragingly.

--

Three hours later, the pizza had been eaten, the presents had been opened, the song has been sung, and cake and ice cream had been eaten with no problems from the birthday girl. She was the perfect angel, sweet and polite thanking everyone for her gifts acting nothing like the little hellion that was present just a few short hours ago.

Angel had been assigned the task of picking up all of his daughter's new toys and clothes that had ended up all over the lobby.

"Catherine, come on and help daddy." Angel called as he walked around the lobby. 'Where are you sweetie?" He had just come from the kitchen and she wasn't there and she couldn't be hiding because he would have heard her by now because she doesn't know how to be quiet. He looked around the lobby and saw something that made him want to vomit. "Oh shit."

The door to the lobby was cracked open just enough that his two year old daughter to sneak through. He was at the door in two agonizingly longs seconds later and looked outside and saw her standing on the sidewalk walking towards the street,

"Cordelia." He screamed as he stepped outside. The sun was setting so thankfully he had some shade to work with. He hoped that Cordy got out here fast. "Catherine. Stop right there." He said sternly. She stopped and looked at him.

"Daddy, lookee cars." She said and then started back to the street. He knew that Cordy wouldn't make it out here on time. He knew that he had to step out into the sun and save his daughter's life. He quickly shrugged out of his jacket and positioned so he could scoop her up and avoid any of the flames coming into contact with her. As soon as he stepped out into the sun he felt his flesh began to burn and the stench filled his nostrils. From a distance, he heard Cordy screaming his and Catherine's name.


	46. Chapter 46

Cordy was in the kitchen putting away the left over food when she heard Angel's panicked voice calling her name. Everyone else also heard his scream and they dropped everything and ran out to the lobby. When Cordy got to the lobby she didn't see her daughter or Angel, but she saw the front door open. She knew without a doubt that they were both outside.

"Oh my God." She gasped as she ran to the open door. She arrived just as Angel stepped out into the sun, catching fire, trying desperately to save his daughter from stepping out into the street. "CATHERINE. ANGEL." She screamed.

She watched in frozen horror as a fireball, also known as Angel, used his leather jacket to scoop Catherine up keeping her as far away from the flames as possible. At this point Connor was outside with his dad and sister. He grabbed Catherine from Angel, whose screams were mixing with her fathers. She was handed to Wesley who was right behind Connor who ran the crying child to her mother. As soon as his sister was out of harms way, using all of he strength, Connor pushed his father through the air into the shade. Angel landed hard on the front porch. All of this took place in less then twenty seconds.

"Oh my God, Oh my God, Catherine baby are you ok?" Cordy cried as she looked at her screaming daughter. There wasn't a scratch on her. She was just scared. "Shhhh sweetie, it's ok." Fred came over and held out her arms to take Catherine She knew that Cordy needed to be with Angel. "Hey go see Auntie Fred. She can get you some ice cream." Catherine's tears immediately stopped and she went right into Fred's arms. Cordy kissed her as they walked away.

When Cordy got over to Angel he was barley conscious. His entire body was burned. He must have been seconds away from turning into dust. He slowly opened his eyes when he felt Cordy next to him.

"Catherine? Hurt?" He whispered

"She's fine. Her daddy protected her."

"Connor?" He knew that Connor was the one who pushed him into the shade. Cordy looked over at his burnt hands.

"He's fine too." As soon as he heard those words he lost consciousness. "Gunn, Wes. Lorne, can you guys carry him up to his room. It's better that we do it now, while he is unconscious." They nodded. "I need to check on Catherine and Connor." Her friends gently lifted Angel off of the floor and carried him upstairs.

"Connor, let me see." Cordy said as she walked over to him. He painfully held out his burnt and blistered hands. "Oh sweetie, what were you thinking?"

"I had to Cor. He was about to die. Is he ok?" He whispered with tears streaming down his face.

"He is fine." She mumbled.

"Don't lie to me Cordelia."

"All right then Connor. He is not fine right now, but he will be. He can't die from these burns but it's going to hurt like hell."

"But vampires heal fast right?" Ciara asked

"He will definitely heal faster then we would but he won't be up anytime soon. Now come on Connor, let me take care of these burns." She led him to Angel's office and gently applied a burn cream to his hands then wrapped them up with gauze. "Now don't try to be a hero. If you start fighting you will regret it because it will hurt like hell. Take a break. Let your wife take care of you. Ciara, make sure he relaxes and use his hands as little as possible. If he pulls any shit with you show your demon half." Cordy instructed

"Cor, I was so scared. I thought that he was going to die" Connor said in a choked voice and she pulled him into her arms and hugged him tightly but gently.

"I know Connor. I was scared too." She replied when they pulled apart.

"I wish he would have waited and I could have gotten her."

"He did what he had to do to save her. You saw it. She was right at the edge of the street. He couldn't have waited. He would do anything, including dying for his children." Connor was silent. "You know, he did that for you."

"He did?" A surprised Connor asked

"When you first came back from Cortaux, you ran out of here, into the bright sun. Your dad chased right behind and would have burst into flames if Wes and Gunn hadn't of pulled him back."

"I never knew that."

"I need to go see Catherine and then Angel. You…" Cordy said pointing at Connor, "Take an easy."

"Please, send him our love." Ciara said as Cordy walked into the kitchen.

"Mommy, ice cream." Ciara yelled when she saw her mother.

"Is she ok?" Cordy asked Fred. She seemed fine and there wasn't any noticeable damage, but as any mother would be, she was worried.

"She is perfect. I checked her out and I didn't see a mark and she is acting like her normal self. I think that she was crying because she was scared." Fred said softly.

"How could she have gotten outside? How could I not have known?"

"She is two years old Cordy. They get into anything and everything. The door may have only been open a crack, but enough for her to pull it open enough to squeeze through. That is the only explanation that I can think of because none of us would leave the door open."

"I am such a bad mother." Fred immediately pulled her best friend into her arms.

"Cordelia Chase, that is bullshit and you know it. Look at Catherine, she is fine and her dad will be too. Now, I'll watch her and you go see him."

"Thank you Fred. Come and get me if you need anything."

--

"How is he?" Cordy whispered as she walked into Angel's room.

"He is still unconscious." Wes said.

"I've never seen him this bad before." Gunn commented as he continued to stare at a burned Angel lying on his bed.

"He's never been this bad before." Cordy whispered

"Is Catherine and Connor all right?" Gunn asked and she nodded

"Catherine is fine. Connor's hands are burnt pretty badly, but I think that he will be ok."

"What can we do?" Lorne asked

"I don't know. I'm going to clean him up and get him out of his clothes while he is still unconscious."

"I'll stay and help." Wes offered and Cordy nodded in appreciation.

"Cordycakes, we will be downstairs if you need anything." Lorne said as he gently hugged her.

"Ok, what first?" Wes asked when the door shut behind them.

"We need to cut these burnt clothes off of him." She instructed as she handed Wes a pair of scissors. "You take the left side and I'll get the right."

They worked in silence cutting of Angel's clothes. She was no doctor but she was sure that he had sustained fourth degree burns. At one point she was able to see his bone and she quickly had to run to the bathroom to puke. Once the clothes were all cut off the front of his body, Wesley rolled him onto his left side and Cordy cut then they did the same for his right side. After about an hour all of his clothes had been removed.

"My God, he looks horrible." She whispered as she looked at his burnt body. Wesley gently placed his arm around her shoulder.

"I know, but right now it's a damn good thing that he is a vampire because he won't die from these injuries. He will heal.

"How long to you think it will take?"

"A month, maybe two."

"He is going to hate that."

"I would have to agree with you. He will definitely hate it."

"I think that I need to leave the burns uncovered. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, once they start blistering and the skin grows back we can then bandage him up."

"Will a sheet be ok?" She asked him as she went to the closet.

"Yeah, that should be fine." Cordy gently laid a sheet over his burnt body. "Will you be ok? I would like to go check on Fred, Connor and Catherine."

"Yeah, we'll be fine. I want to be here when he wakes up."

"I thought that you would. He is lucky to have you." Wesley said as he walked out, leaving Angel and Cordy alone.

She pulled a chair next to his bed and gently picked up his charred hand, and let the tears that she had been holding back, flow from his eyes.

"Thank you Angel. Thank you for saving our little girls life. This wouldn't have happened if I was doing my job and watching her like I should have been. I was so scared. I was scared for Catherine. I knew that you wouldn't let anything to happen to our girl. I knew that she was safe from the street and cars, but I was scared that she was going to lose her daddy. I was scared that I was going to lose you. I thought that you were going to die today and just so you know, this may be selfish, but I don't want to live without you. I love you Angel, I never stopped loving you. I know that I have only offered you friendship, but that's not enough anymore. I was only offering you friendship because I didn't want to get hurt again. The first time almost killed me and I wouldn't be able to survive it a second time, but I realize that I have been stupid and wasting valuable time that we could have together. I know that you will never hurt me again. I have known it all along. I just let my fear and not my heart make the decision for me. You know when I went out on my date with Drew, I knew that I never wanted to be with anyone else but you and I knew it during the first minute that I was alone with him, before he became an ass. I know how hard and how much this going to hurt but I know that you can do it. You are the strongest man that I know. You are not only my hero, but you are a hero to your son and daughter. I am going to be here for you through all of the pain and hurt. You need to hurry up and heal so we can make up for lost time. I love you Angel and I always will."

While sitting next to his bed, holding his hand Cordy fell asleep. She was jarred awake by moaning coming from the bed.

"Angel, I'm here." The moaning got louder. She knew that he was in a lot of pain. She ran to the door. "Someone bring me whiskey, water and blood now." She screamed. The moaning was getting louder and he was beginning to thrash around on his bed. "Angel, you need to calm down and lay still." She said sternly as tried to hold him down and not hurt him at the same time. The not hurting him was not working. Thankfully Wes and Gunn came in with her supplies.

"Give me the whiskey." She snapped.

"What's this for?" Gunn said as he handed her the bottle

"The pain." Wes responded

"Hey, baby, here take a drink." She said soothingly. She grabbed his head and held it up, placed the whiskey bottle to his lips and forced him to drink. After he managed to drink half of the bottle she let him lay back on the bed. He seemed to be slightly more relaxed but still in obvious pain. There were beads of sweet rolling off of his forehead and he was shivering. "I need a blanket now. He is freezing." Gunn handed her a blanket and she gently laid it across him.

"Cordy, we need to get him to drink the water and blood." Wes said.

"I know." She said as she said as she took the water bottle from Wes. "Angel, we need you to drink this water."

"No…hurts." He mumbled.

"I know you're hurting, but you have to drink." She lifted his head up again and forced the water bottle into his mouth. He quickly drank it. "Now, how about some dinner? I have your blood." He took a small drink and choked it back out. "Angel, you need to drink. It will help you get you're strength up." She put the glass back up to his lips. "Now take nice slow sips." He did as he was told and drank the whole glass of blood. "Good job." She whispered as she laid his head back down on the pillow.

"God…hurts…bad" He said as tears filled his eyes.

"I know. I know baby." She said as she wiped his sweaty hair off of his forehead.

"Catherine…Connor?"

"They are both fine."

"Liar"

"Connor's hands are burnt but he will be ok and Catherine…"

"Screaming… Catherine." He interrupted her.

"She was screaming but it was because she was scared not hurt. She is perfectly fine. You rescued her." Those words seemed to put his mind at ease because he closed his eyes and drifted off into a restless sleep.

"How are Catherine and Connor?" She asked

"Fred and Ciara are playing with Catherine and Connor took a pain pill and he is lying down."

"Good. I'm so worried about them."

"Don't be. They are both under the watchful eye of Fred and Lorne."

"Thank you."

--

She had just finished giving him a sponge bath when there was a soft knock at the door. She quickly covered him up and opened the door to see Fred standing there. She answered the question before Cordy could even ask it.

"She is fine, just tired. Wesley and I were wondering if we could take her home to spend the night with is tonight."

"I don't want to impose. She is my daughter…" Fred interrupted her.

"We are offering. We want her to stay with us and you will be able to stay with Angel tonight because he needs you."

"I almost lost him Fred." Cordy said as she stared at the sleeping man.

"But you didn't. You know Angel; it will take a lot more then a little sun to take him away from you."

"He almost died, thinking that I never forgave him."

"You forgave him?" Cordy nodded. "Now you have the chance to tell him and start over. You guys were always happiest when you were with each other."

"Can you stay with him while I get a bag together for Catherine?" Fred nodded and Cordy walked over to Angel. "Fred and Wes are taking Catherine for the night and I have to get her packed. I'll be right back so if you need anything Fred will be right here."

Cordy walked out into the hall and was met by her daughter throwing herself at her mother. "Mommy, mommy." Cordy scooped her up and hugged her tightly.

"Hey baby girl. Do you want to go to Uncle Wes and Aunt Fred's house tonight?" Catherine nodded. "Ok then let's go get dolly."

"Daddy, want daddy." Catherine whined as they walked away from Angel's room. Cordy was amazed that her daughter knew that this was her dad's room even with the door closed.

"Daddy's sleeping Catherine."

"Night night?"

"Yeah baby, daddy went night night." That seemed to satisfy her.

Fifteen minutes later, Catherine was all packed and ready to go. Cordy did not want Catherine to see Angel in his condition so she knocked on the door to let Fred know that they were ready.

"Catherine are you ready to go?" Fred said as held out her arms but she clung tight to her mother.

"I want daddy."

"Honey daddy is sleeping."

"I want daddy." She said again as she began to cry. Cordy handed her over to Fred.

"Just take her, she will be fine. Catherine I love you." Fred and Catherine walked down the hall crying the whole way.

Cordy walked back into the room and saw Angel struggling against the pain, trying to sit up. "Angel, lay down. Relax."

"Catherine…crying…needs…me." He grunted through clenched teeth.

"She is gone already." She said gently holding him down.

"God….Cor….hurts…pain…so….bad." Cordy knew that he was hurting especially when the tears fell from his eyes.

"I know but I don't know what else to do." She gently placed her hand on his forehead. He was burning up. "I'll be right back. I need to get a cool cloth for you head." She ran into the bathroom and wet down a cloth in cold water. She came back to the room and his eyes were closed. Very carefully, she began to blot his forehead. "Oh my sweet Angel." She whispered.

His eyes opened and he looked at her. "Kathy, I'm not an angel I'm evil."

Cordy assumed that he was hallucinating but she was wrong. The Powers That Be decided to take this opportunity, while he was out of commission to send some of Angelus's victims to Angel in the form of Cordelia. These victims were the ones that Angel carried a hefty guilty burden and he needed to beg their forgiveness. So when he looked at Cordy he didn't see her. Instead he was looking at his innocent sister.


	47. Chapter 47

Angel couldn't believe it. He was no longer in pain and his precious sister; Kathy was standing in front of him. But it couldn't be. She was dead. He killed her.

"Kathy is that you?" He whispered

"Hello, sweet Liam." Angel shook his head furiously.

"No, I'm not Liam. Liam is dead. I'm Angel."

"I know dear brother, you are my angel."

"Kathy, I'm not an angel. I'm evil." She nodded in agreement.

"I know that Liam but what I don't know is why? I trusted you. I adored my older brother. I did nothing but love you. Why did you kill me?" Angel had tears in his eyes.

"The only answer that I can give you is that I could kill you so I did. You never did anything wrong. You were the perfect sister. It was all about me. I'm so sorry Kathy. I know that isn't enough, but I am truly sorry. I won't ever be able to forgive myself, but I want you know that I am sorry."

"You can forgive yourself Liam, because I forgive you."

"Why? How can you?"

"Because dear brother, I know that it wasn't you. I know that a monster had infected you and you had no soul, and you had no control over your actions. You said as much to me when you said that you killed me just because you could. My brother Liam would never have done that. He would have been killed trying to save me. You have your soul now like Liam did. I know that you wouldn't kill me now so I forgive you."

"Thank you dear sweet Kathy." Angel said sobbing. He didn't deserve her love or forgiveness but she had given it to him.

"You have done wonderful things with your soul. I am so very proud of you. You have saved so many lives and you will save so many more, as will your children"

"You know about them?" She nodded her head.

"Connor and Catherine. You are a wonderful father. You should be very proud of yourself."

"We named her after you. She looks like you and her mother."

"I am glad you found love and children. Be safe my sweet brother." And with that Kathy disappeared.

"Kathy…come back." He yelled and instead of Kathy returning, his mother replaced her.

"Liam."

"What the hell is going on?" He yelled

"You shouldn't swear."

"Why are you here?"

"The Powers have sent me along with some of your other victims to help ease your guilt. Do you feel guilty son?"

"Yes mother I do."

"Why me?"

"Probably because you married him and never defended me to him."

"It was the way things were at that time Liam. Woman never questioned their husband's decisions or choices. We were responsible for keeping a clean home; clean clothes, and we were primarily responsible for raising girls. Men handled all of the discipline and the raising of boys. As much as I disagreed with how you treated you Liam, I couldn't do anything about it." Angel wondered why he never realized that before.

"My daughter's mother would not stand idly by and let me handle all of the discipline. It's fifty-fifty when it comes to raising her."

"Cordelia is a wonderful mother. Better than I was to you."

"Mother, you were the best that you could have been at the time. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have killed you. I was so angry with Father that I took your life because of it. Please forgive me Mother."

"I forgive you son." His mother disappeared.

Angel was so confused. He was back in his room for a minute, in excruciating pain. He saw a very concerned Cordelia through the slits of his barely opened eyes. Suddenly Cordy and the pain disappeared and his father replaced them.

"Father.'

"Liam."

"I have become a good man. I have saved many lives."

"More than you have taken?"

"No." Angel whispered softly.

"You were never the son that I wanted. You were such a disappointment Liam."

"Maybe I wouldn't have been if you tried to see who I really was. I'm a father now and I have never nor will I ever treat my children the way that you treated me. Whatever decision that they choose to make in their lives I will support them because I am their father and I love them unconditionally."

"That is such poppycock Liam. A true father makes decisions for his children to ensure they stay on the path of righteousness."

"That worked really well for you didn't it Father?"

"I didn't have much to work with." Angel sighed. Being dead for two hundred fifty years hadn't changed him a bit.

"I'm sorry for killing you. All I ever wanted from you is your approval and by killing you I never got that. I was just an angry guy with an incredible amount of power and strength so I killed you. I think I actually enjoyed the fact that I finally had the power of you, that you were afraid of me instead of the other way around. I'm sorry Father."

"I refuse to forgive you Liam. I know that your sister and mother gave you their forgiveness but they are weak souls."

"You made them that way with your domineering ways.'

"I did what had to be done. You still make me sick Liam." Even though it had been two hundred and fifty years, his father's words still stung.

"I'm sorry to hear that Father. I am sorry for my past sins and I am still repenting for them, but I know even if God himself invited me into heaven, it still won't be good enough for you. One thing that I have learned from you is how not to treat my children."

"Goodbye Liam." Hot tears stung Angel's eyes. He understood why his mother and sister had been sent to him but why his father? No one had ever made him feel bad about himself like his father did. He was a disappointment to him in life and in death. Some things will never change.

For the rest of the night Angel was visited by the many people he had killed and tortured, including the virgin gypsy whose family blessed him with his soul and Drusilla. Once he had received his soul he hated that he damned her to an eternity of mental torment. Of course she didn't forgive me because in her disturbed mind, he gave her a gift. By the time the sun rose, he had been granted forgiveness by nearly all of his victims.

--

Cordy sat curled up on the chair next to Angel. She had not gotten much sleep because of the hallucinations Angel had been having all night. She just dozed off when the moaning began again. She was immediately on her feet next to him.

"Angel, shhh it's OK." She whispered soothingly in his ear. Overnight he seemed to be doing better. He didn't appear to be in much pain, but she could tell he was really hurting again and she could feel the heat radiating from his burnt body. She ran to the bathroom for a cold rag and grabbed another bottle of whiskey on her way back to him. "Here you need to drink this."

"Blood?"

"No, whiskey. It will help with the pain." She pulled his head up.

"Don't… want… it." He gasped

"I don't care. You need it." She held the bottle up to his lips and he pushed it away.

"Need…to…suffer"

"That's ridiculous Angel. There is no need to be in pain. Now drink it." With all of the strength that he had in him, which wasn't a lot, he pushed the whiskey bottle to the floor. "God Dammit Angel." She snapped as she tried to salvage some of the whiskey.

"Don't…want…it" He was acting like their two-year-old child, clamping his lips shut, refusing to drink.

"Stop being such a stubborn ass and drink this." She yelled at him but he continued to refuse.

"Need…to …suffer…like…I…made…others…suffer."

"Angel, please. I don't want to see you like this."

"Need…too." He tried to sit up a little but it didn't work. He had his teeth clenched and was sweating profusely. He screamed in pain and fell into unconsciousness.

"You son of a bitch. Why must you be so damned stubborn?" She yelled at his unconscious form. She gently wiped his sweaty face as her tears flowed. She hated to see him in so much pain. She wished that she could take it all away from him. She was still wiping his face when Wes came into the room.

"How is he?" Wes asked softly

"He is a stubborn jackass."

"Excuse me?" Cordy looked at Wes with tears streaming down her face.

"He is refusing the whiskey for pain. He says that he wants to suffer like he made other people suffer."

"How did the night go?"

"He spent most of it hallucinating. He kept carrying on conversations with his parents and sister."

"Maybe that's why he feels the need to suffer through the pain. He feels guilty."

"Well it's stupid."

"Cordy, did you get any sleep last night?"

"Not really. Maybe a few minutes here or there between his hallucinations."

"You need to get some sleep."

"I can't. I need to stay with him."

"We can stay. You aren't alone. There is no need care for him by yourself. We can all take shifts."

"No, really, I'm fine. I can sleep now since he is unconscious."

"Where at? The chair. You won't be able to get a decent rest, then you will get sick and you won't be able to take of him. Now please Cordelia, go get some sleep." Wes said sternly.

"OK, but first I need to hug my girl. Is she here?"

"Fred is with her downstairs giving her breakfast."

"Was she good for you?"

"She was perfect."

"Good. Will you please come and get me if anything happens?"

"I will."

Cordy walked into the kitchen and stood there observing her daughter eating some fruit. She was thankful that Catherine was still too young to understand what was going on with Angel. Fred noticed her standing there and gave a wave. Catherine turned to see who her Aunt Fred was waving at. Her face lit up when she saw that is was her mom.

"Mommy!" Catherine came down from her chair and threw herself into Cordy's arms.

"Hey baby. Mommy missed you." Cordy was covering her face in kisses and holding her tightly.

"Miss mommy." Catherine said as she tried to break out of Cordy's tight grip. She then noticed the tears on her mother's cheeks. "Mommy cry?"

"It's Okay baby girl. Were you a good girl for Aunt Fred and Uncle Wes?" She asked her as she set her back down at the table.

"I good girl." And Fred nodded in agreement.

"What are you eating?"

"Nannas, apples, watmelon. Here. Share." Catherine said as she shoved an apple piece into Cordy's mouth. "Good mommy?"

"Good Catherine." At that moment Ciara and Connor walked in.

"Ner. Ara." Catherine squealed as she climbed out of her chair again and this time ran to her siblings who happily hugged her.

"How are your hands?" Cordy asked Connor who had managed to untangle himself from his sister.

"Hurts like hell." He replied

"Come on, let me re bandage them."

"How is…" Cordy cut him off by holding her finger to her lips. She didn't want Catherine to be reminded of Angel or the fact that she hasn't seen him because she would throw another fit. Once out of the kitchen and in Angel's office Connor broached the subject of Angel.

"How come you didn't want me asking about dad?"

"Catherine. She threw a royal fit yesterday when she couldn't see him and I didn't want that again today."

"So how is he then?" Connor asked as Cordy gently reapplied the burn cream to his hands.

"Same as yesterday."

"Can I see him?"

"Of course you can. I think he would like that. I just don't want Catherine to see him all burnt up. I'm afraid that it will scare her."

"Thanks Cor."

"For what?" She said as she finished wrapping his hands in clean gauze.

"For taking care of me and him. We are lucky to have you." Connor said as he hugged her.

"I'm the lucky one." Before the tears could fall again Catherine ran into the office with Gunn and Justine following behind her.

"I go park wif Uncle Gunn." Cordy mouthed a silent thank you.

"We thought that you could rest for awhile." Justine said

"Have fun baby and be a good girl." Catherine nodded happily.

"I good girl."

"Watch her. Make sure she doesn't eat the sand out of the sand box. She loves doing that and make sure she sits while coming down the slide. She loves to try and stand and-" Gunn cut her off.

"We have taken her to the park before. We have it under control."

"I know. After yesterday I'm just worried."

"We won't let anything happen to her."

"I love you Catherine."

"Love you mommy."

As Cordy collapsed, fully clothed on her bed and the exhaustion set in she couldn't help thinking what wonderful friends that she and Angel had. The way they all were pitching in to help with Angel and Catherine made her heart swell with happiness. Now the only thing that would make everything perfect would be Angel recovering. She knew he would but she also knew that it was going to be a long, painful journey.


	48. Chapter 48

Over the next week Angel slowly began to heal. He finally quit being stubborn and started drinking the whiskey for his pain. By week's end he was able to have short conversations that actually made sense. He was never left alone. They all were scheduled in two-four hour shifts depending what was going on. Cordy insisted on staying during the night and Ciara and Connor stayed in Cordy's room with Catherine.

To add to the strain of everything else, vamps and demons must have heard about Angel being incapacitated so there were more attacks which meant that every available person at Angel Investigations was out fighting including Cordy and Ciara who hated it but she knew that she was needed, especially since Connor wasn't able to fight either.

"I don't know how much longer we can keep this up." Cordy said as she collapsed on the sofa. Justine and Gunn followed suit.

"Who the hell sent out the memo that Angel and Connor were down for the count?" Gunn grumbled.

"Angel is healing relatively quickly. Maybe another four weeks minimum and six weeks maximum. "Wes said

"I can't do this anymore. I hate the fighting and killing." Ciara said in a tear filled voice.

"I know honey, I know." Connor said as pulled Ciara into his arms. "She can't do this anymore. It's not who she is."

"I agree with you Connor. She is more likely to make a mistake if her heart isn't in it."

"We need help." Justine said

"Ya think." Gunn said playfully.

"Since we have some down time, I'm going to check on Angel then go find my daughter before she forgets who I am." Cordy said as she headed upstairs. Everyone followed Cordy's lead. Justine, Gunn, Ciara and Connor retreated to their respective rooms for some private time. Wes went to find Fred who since her pregnancy has been assigned office duty. He walked up to her and kissed his wife deeply.

"Hey, I missed you and that." She said and he kissed her again.

"Fred sweetie, I am so sorry. Things have been insane." Wes said sadly

"Wesley, you guys can't keep this up. You all are exhausted. Someone is going to get hurt."

"I know, but I have an idea." He said smiling.

--

Cordy walked into Angel's room. Lorne was sitting on the chair next to his bed reading,

"How is he?"

"About the same." Lorne said sadly. "He drank his lunch a couple of hours ago."

"Go on take a break, I'll stay for awhile." Lorne didn't argue with her. He kissed her forehead on his way out of the door.

As if he sensed her presence, he began to stir as soon as she sat down. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled when he realized that she was there, next to him.

"Cor?"

"Hey it's me. How is the pain?"

"OK. How are you?"

"Good. I miss you."

"Connor?"

"Better. His hands are still pretty burnt up. It's too bad that he doesn't have the same healing quality as he do."

"All my fault."

"Don't say that."

"Catherine. I miss her."

"She misses you too."

"I need to see her."

"I don't know. I don't want her to hurt you."

"Please Cordy?" She nodded and she went to retrieve their daughter. Catherine was just waking up from her nap when Cordy got to her room.

"Hi mommy."

"Hi baby. Do you want to go see daddy?" Catherine's face lit up. "Ok, but you have to be gentle baby ok." She nodded happily. As soon as Cordy opened Angel's bedroom door Catherine let go of her mother's hand and ran into the room.

"Daddy, Daddy." She suddenly stopped in front of his bed as soon as she saw his burnt body.

"Hey chipmunk." Angel said softly and Catherine reached for her mother who picked her up.

"Sweetie, it's daddy."

"Daddy?"

"Come here chipmunk." He held out his arms and with Cordy's help she slowly climbed into his arms. When he winced in pain, Cordy reached out to take Catherine but he stopped her with his eyes.

"Ouchie Daddy?" She asked as she pointed to his burns.

"Yep chipmunk. Daddy has an ouchie." Catherine leaned forward and gently placed her lips against his burnt arm.

"Better?" She asked

"All better chipmunk." She stayed on his lap for about five more minutes talking non-stop, most of the time using words with some of her incoherent babble. As soon she was put back down on the floor she ran into her room.

"Are you OK? You look like you are in pain."

"No more than usual. Nothing I can't handle." Cordy raised her eyebrows. "No, really. I'm fine." He said as he closed his eyes. He was asleep within seconds. Cordy let him rest and went into Catherine's room to play with her. Over the past week she had really missed her daughter. She couldn't wait until Angel healed so things could get back to normal. Two hours later she put a DVD in for Catherine and went out to check on Angel. He was just waking up again.

"Hey you." She said softly.

"Catherine?"

"In her room watching Shrek." Angel grinned.

"She loves that damn movie."

"It's your fault, You bought her the damn movie."

"You're right as usual."

"Not about everything." He looked at her questioningly. "Are you in the mood for a heart to heart?"

"As long as it is with you."

"I was wrong about us Angel. I have forgiven you for what happened with Buffy. I did a long time ago. I was just so scared of getting hurt again. I barely survived it the first time and I knew that I wouldn't survive it a second time." They both had tears rolling down their faces. "When I saw you outside in the sun on fire I was terrified. Not for Catherine's safety because I knew that you would save her, I was terrified that she would lose her daddy and he would never know that I forgave him and I still loved him.

"Cordelia." He whispered softly.

"Angel I know that I don't deserve it but please forgive me."

"For what?"

"For making you suffer for a stupid mistake. Forgive me for breaking up our family. You once told me that I was your soul. Well you are mine, without you I am incomplete. You have my heart; only you and no one else will have it. Would you give us a second chance? I love you so much Angel."

"Cor, you did nothing wrong. You acted exactly as you should have. I hurt you and I will always regret that. I love you Cordelia Chase. I never stopped."

"Does that mean?"

"Consider us a happy family again." Cordy leaned forward and gently kissed his burnt lips. "Does this mean that you are moving back in this room?" He asked her when they broke apart.

"You and I are never going to sleep alone again after you heal."

"Hell no. I'm not waiting any more. We have a king sized bid. You can stay on your side and I'll be fine. In fact I know that I will heal better if you are lying bedside me every night."

"You are so full of shit but who am I to argue with a sick man."

"I love you Cor."

"I love you Angel."

--

Two days later Cordy stomped into her new/old bedroom. Connor and Angel looked up in surprise as the door slammed.

"I swear to God, I have staked so many vamps that I feel like I am turning into dust. And no matter how many of those son of a bitches we stake there are more and more showing up." She fumed. She then noticed Connor sitting next to Angel. "Hey Connor."

"Hey Cor. Rough day?" He asked grinning

"Did you not hear a word that I said? And do you realize that it's not only happening at night? These sneaky little bastards are getting into everything during the day, stores, restaurants, and schools. It's fucking insane."

"Little ears." Angel said as he motioned towards Catherine's room and Cordy glared at him.

"I'm going to get a shower." She said walking to the bathroom and slamming the door.

"Dad, it's getting bad out there." Connor said

"I know. In all of my two hundred plus years, I have never felt so damn useless. I can't even take a piss without getting exhausted"

"What are we going to do? Everyone is exhausted and falling apart. They can't do it for much longer."

"I have no idea son. Do we know any healers?"

"Lorne has been trying to find one but so far he has had no luck."

"God Dammit."

A freshly showered and dust free Cordy came out of the bathroom and collapsed on her side of the bed.

"Angel, I don't know how much longer we can keep this up. We almost lost Wes and Justine today. It was so close and I was so scared. Wes's baby almost lost its father today and it's not even born yet." Cordy began to cry. Catherine heard the crying and came out of her room.

"Mommy?"

"Hey baby." Cordy sniffled.

"Puzzle." Catherine handed Cordy a puzzle. She climbed up on the bed and they both began putting her puzzle together.

Angel had drifted off again and Catherine and Cordy were still putting the puzzle together an hour later when there was a knock at the door. Cordy groaned. She knew that she was going to have to go out and do some more staking.

"Come in." She called out and Wesley walked in.

"Uncle Weswee." Catherine shouted as she scrambled off the bed and over to her uncle who picked her up and kissed her.

"Catherine, Aunt Fred has some ice cream for you. Do you want some?"

"Ice Cream." She squealed as she ran down the hall into Fred's arms.

"We seriously need to come up with something other than ice cream when we need to distract Catherine. If we keep it up she will start gaining some unnecessary weight."

"Wes, what's wrong?" Angel asked yawning. He was so tired of being tired.

"I have come up with a solution to our overwhelming vampire issue."

"Thank God." Cordy said, "What did you do?"

"I called Giles and asked for some slayers."

"What slayers did her send?" Cordy did not want to deal with the man stealing Buffy, even if vamps were destroying her town.

"Not Buffy."

"Faith?"

"No Faith is on another assignment and I didn't think that it would be a good idea for Buffy to come."

"Good thinking." Angel said. "So who did he send?"

"They are slayers that have just completed their training."

"Will they be good enough?"

"They will be but they also have a partner."

"Who is the partner?"

"Me." Said a voice from the doorway. Cordy and Angel turned around at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Get the hell out of my room. As a matter of fact get the hell out of my hotel and city," Angel growled

"Spike." Cordy whispered.


	49. Chapter 49

"It's great to see you again too Angel." A grinning Spike said.

"Get out." Angel growled.

"You want me to leave?" Angel glared at him. "I'll go as soon as you make me Blister Boy." Forgetting that he was lying naked under the sheets, any sudden movement would cause him great pain, or he had practically no strength, he shot out of the bed towards Spike. He made it about a foot before he collapsed on the floor.

"Angel." Cordy yelled and Spike roared with laughter.

"Oh, God." He groaned.

"Wesley, please help me get him back to bed." Cordy snapped as she struggled with Angel. "Shut the hell up Spike."

"I…sorry…actually…I'm…not" Spike said between laughs. "Did you see his…it's burnt to a crisp?" He howled

Cordy and Wes got Angel back into bed. She ordered Wes to go find some more whiskey. The pain as been tolerable for a while now and he hadn't needed the whiskey so there was none available in the room. Cordy grabbed a stake as soon was Wes left the room and charged at Spike. He was to busy laughing to see her coming.

"You sorry son of a bitch. He risked his life to save Catherine." She shouted as she shoved him against the wall, pointing the stake at his heart. "I should put this stake through selfish heart right now."

"Princess Cordelia, you don't have it in you." In one swift movement she reached over and grabbed some old statue that Angel loved and hit Spike upside his head.

"I always knew that this piece of shit would come in handy." She said grinning as Spike picked himself off of the floor rubbing his head. "Now, do you think that I have it in me?"

"You aren't the prissy princess that I remember."

"You're still the same arrogant asshole that I remember."

"Cor..." Angel groaned from the bed. He was in a lot of pain. There was sweat pouring down his face. "Hurts."

"Ahh suck it up Mr. Crispy and be a man."

"Spike, I will kill you if you don't shut the hell up." Cordy said as she gently mopped up Angel's face. Wes returned right then with the whiskey. "Here Angel drink." He didn't fight her and drank greedily from the bottle.

"So who does the rugrat belong to?" Spike asked trying to make conversation.

"She's ours." Cordy and Angel answered at the same time.

"I'll be damned, mate. You've been shagging Sunnydale's princess?"

"Spike, what the hell are you doing here?" Angel mumbled through closed eyes.

"Wesley called Giles and told him that LA was down a vampire with a soul and his team was getting its asses kicked and they needed help so some of the best slayers were sent along with me for some extra muscle until Fire baby is back on his feet."

"We don't need your help. The slayers will be fine." Cordy said

"Look, I don't want to be here with Mr. Sourpuss anymore then he wants me to be here but I won't argue with Buffy. Well, actually I did when she told me to come but she refused to come herself and no matter what I said she wouldn't change her mind." Angel and Cordy looked at each other. They both knew why she wasn't here and as much as they could have used her help, they were thankful.

"As soon as Angel has healed Spike will be gone." Wesley said.

""Maybe even a second or two before." Spike quipped and Cordy rolled her eyes. She looked at Angel who was sleeping. The whiskey finally kicked in.

"Come on the sun will be going down and we need to get ready." Wes said as he and Spike walked out of the room. Cordy leaned down and gently kissed his lips, the only part of his body that was healing relatively fast. His eyes fluttered opened.

"Spike? Tell me that I was having a God awful nightmare"

"No, it wasn't a nightmare. He is really here."

"Damn"

"I'm going to work. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I hate this. I hate the fact that you have to go out fighting without me there to protect you."

"Hey, look at me." No response. "Angel look at me." She demanded. He slowly focused his tear filled eyes on her. "You trained me well and I can take care of myself. We both know that if something is going to happen to me it won't matter if you are here in bed or standing next to me. I know the risks of the job as does everyone else and I feel that the people that we save are worth the risk. Now, get some rest and remember that I love you."

"You are the most amazing woman that I have ever met."

"I know." She said smugly.

"Be careful. I love you." Cordy blew him a kiss and headed down to the lobby.

--

An hour later Cordy and Spike were patrolling together. The team had spilt off into groups of two or three; each of them with a slayer and Cordy had been stuck with Spike.

"Now, don't get used to staying here Spike. Angel will be better soon. To your left." She said and Spike spun around and staked a vamp in his left.

"Behind you." Without blinking Cordy staked the vamp that was coming from behind. "Trust me doll face, I don't want to say here either." They walked and staked in silence for another couple of hours before checking with the other teams who were having just as much success as they were. They hadn't staked this many vampires since before Angel's accident. It felt great.

"So you've been putting out for Angel huh?" Spike asked her grinning

"Can you possibly be any more vile?"

"As a matter of fact I can be. Would you like that? Does that turn you on?"

"You're disgusting." She spat at him.

"Come on Cordelia, Angel and I have shared many things in the past, including women. We shared many of our victims before they met their demise, we shared Darla, Drue and Buffy so why not add you to the list?" He said with a grin on his face and Cordy slapped that stupid grin right off of his face.

"He is not the same man anymore."

"Obviously. He is a wussy man." Spike said laughing at himself.

"He is a hero, a champion, something that you know nothing about."

"Maybe not princess, but I do know what it's like to never have the heart of the one person that you really love. I know what its like to be a substitute for a person's one true love." He said softy. He may have had Buffy in his bed and he may have had a small part of her heart but he never had it all. Her heart would always belong to Angel.

"I am no ones substitute. Angel loves me with his whole heart." Cordy said looking away from Spike. She didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes.

"Are you forgetting his curse pet? You two obviously did the nasty and my old pal Angelus didn't surface so that should be proof enough that you don't own his heart, just his manhood."

Cordy swung around to face Spike. Her eyes were flashing with anger. "Listen up asshole. Angel does love me. We made love with the help of The Powers That Be." Spike interrupted her.

"That's beautiful He couldn't do it on his own. He needed help. I love it."

"Believe me; he needs no help in that area. He was given a potion that he drank before we made love which allowed him to keep his soul."

"How disappointing."

"I don't want to here another word out of your filthy mouth about Angel, Catherine or our relationship. In fact avoiding talking at all will be great."

"I will do as you wish your highness." He said sarcastically. Cordy sighed. Angel couldn't get better quick enough.

--

Cordy walked into her bedroom and panicked. Angel was not in bed.

"Angel?" She shouted and she heard noise coming from Catherine's room. She grabbed her stake and sword and ran towards the room. She heard the intruder heading her way. She positioned herself and waited. As soon as she saw the shadow she jumped out swinging her sword but stopped in mid-air. "Angel, what the hell are you doing out of bed? I almost killed you."

Cordy dropped the sword and stake and grabbed him by the waist to hold him up. He looked about ready to collapse. They slowly shuffled back to the bed. Once he was settled she went to check on Catherine who was sleeping soundly. "What were you doing out of bed?" She asked him as she climbed in next to him.

"Catherine had a nightmare. I heard her crying."

"She is fine now."

"I got her back to sleep. She was so scared Cor, she was clinging to me."

"It's normal for kids her age to experience nightmares."

"I know, but what they don't know is that most of the monsters they see in their dreams are real. I was one of those monsters."

"But you're not anymore. You are the hero that saves people from those monsters."

"Right after the accident, I had visions Cordelia."

"Visions, what kind of visions?"

"I had visions of my family and all of the people that I killed." He had tears in his eyes.

"Baby, you were having extremely high fevers. You were hallucinating." He shook his head.

"No they weren't. They were sent to me by The Powers That Be to help me ease my guilty conscious."

"Was the guilt bad lately?" Cordy knew that he goes through periods of extreme guilt. It was really bad after Catherine was born.

"Really bad. I'm not sure what triggered it but yeah, it was bad."

"You should have talked to me."

"They almost all forgave me for killing them. I don't deserve it but they gave it to me anyhow."

"Of course they did. You are helping people. You have a soul but you don't have to use it for good. You could have locked yourself away and been miserable and insane but you didn't. The PTB saw what a good man you are and how much good you can accomplish. They gave you a mission and you accepted it and made us proud. They all know that you would have never hurt them if you had any control over your evil impulses. Vampires are evil. You didn't know any better than to be evil, granted you were worst than most but you had help in that department."

"My mother and sister are proud of me. They have seen you and Catherine. My mother said that you are a wonderful mother."

"Thank you for telling me. You said that almost everyone forgave you. Who didn't?" She asked him softly. She had a feeling that it was his father but she wasn't sure.

"Well Drue was one. She loves being a vampire too much. She thinks that I gave her a gift so according to her there is nothing to forgive."

"That doesn't surprise me. Who else Angel?" He didn't answer her. "Was it your father?" He nodded as tears flowed from his eyes. Even though he was over two hundred years old, he was like any other man who wanted his father's love and approval. As gently as she could, without hurting him, she pulled him into his arms as he cried. She cried with him.

"He hates me Cordy. He has always hated me and he will spend all of eternity hating me. I was never the son that he wanted." He sobbed into her arms. He has always avoided talking about his father when at all possible but in Cordy's arms, it felt right to get it all out.

"Oh baby, he doesn't know what he is missing."

"All I ever wanted was his respect. I wanted him to respect my choices and my lifestyle. I wanted him to respect me, and who I was but he never did. He never will. When I killed him I thought that I had won but I didn't. I lost any chance of ever gaining his approval."

"Angel, I know that you want his approval and respect. Every son wants his father's approval but unfortunately you aren't going to get it. He is an ass for not realizing what an amazing man that you turned out to be."

"I'm scared that I will screw up with Catherine. Connor is already grown so I can't screw him up anymore that I have already done, but Catherine is just a baby. I can really ruin her life."

"You need to stop thinking like that Angel." Cordy said softly. "You are a wonderful father. You did not screw anything up with Connor and you won't with Catherine. Both of your children respect you. They look up to you. You have made so many choices to make their lives better. There will be many times in Catherine's life where you will make a decision that she will hate but you are doing it because you love her."

"But I don't want Catherine to hate me when she learns what I am and what I've done." There, he voiced his biggest fear. "Like Connor did."

"Connor was brainwashed and he doesn't hate you anymore. In fact, I don't think that he ever really hated you just the things that you did and he now knows that it wasn't you that did those things. It was Angelus and Angelus isn't his father. You are. And don't forget that Catherine is my daughter also. She won't hate you. She will understand and like me, she will feel all of the good that you have done as Angel and not the evil that was Angelus."

"I hope you're right."

"Of course I'm right. I'm Cordelia Chase. You just need to have faith in yourself."

An hour later Cordy was almost asleep when she heard Angel whisper "Thank you Cor."

"Your welcome. What are you welcome for?"

"For being here for me, believing in me, trusting me and loving me."

"Baby, I love you so the rest just comes naturally."

"Thanks anyways."


	50. Chapter 50

Over the next four weeks Angel's burns healed. The only thing that didn't heal as quickly was his strength. He was still very weak so Spike and the slayers were still in LA helping out, much to Angel's dislike. He was spending his days doing strength building exercises but he couldn't beat none of his crew in a fight, and if couldn't beat them he had no chance with a demon or vampire. He hated it. He was a man who could always count on his strength and now he couldn't even count on that and he hated it. He hated how tired he was. He hated to face the facts that because he was so damn weak he felt like less of a man, and father. The only good thing about his healing and weakness was now that his buns had healed he was able to finally hold Cordy in his arms at night again and that didn't take up any of his much needed strength. He was pulled out of sleep by a hit on his face. Cordy's arm was now lying across his face. He grinned as he moved her arm and gently kissed her. He knew no matter how old he got, he would never tire of kissing her beautiful lips, her neck, or any part of her beautiful body. He wanted to do so much more then just kiss her, but he was going to wait until his strength returned so they could have a proper reunion.

"Hmmm." She said kissing him back.

"Good morning gorgeous." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her lips. She pressed her lips to his eagerly. He responded immediately and her tongue begged for entrance into his mouth, which he quickly allowed. They both moaned with delight at the familiarity if having each other's tongues in their mouths. They continued to kiss until they were interrupted by their daughter's voice.

"Mommy. Daddy. Up." Catherine called from her room.

"I've missed this." She whispered in his ear as she held him tightly.

"Oh God baby, you have no idea." He said as he closed his lips over hers again and the kiss lasted all of thirty seconds.

"Mommy. Daddy. UP."

Angel groaned and pulled himself off of Cordy. "The joys of parenthood." He said grinning. "I'll get her up and get her breakfast. You can get a shower."

Angel opened her bedroom door and Catherine's eyes lit up. "Daddy" She yelled as she threw herself into his arms.

"Good morning chipmunk." He kissed her head and hugged her tightly. He missed holding and kissing her. He missed her little arms wrapped around his neck and her slobbery kisses on his face. "Did you sleep good honey?"

"Sleep good."

"Are you hungry." She nodded. "Ok chipmunk, let's get you fed."

When Cordy came out of the shower thirty minutes later ready for the day. She stood back for a minute watching the father and daughter. They were taking turns feeding each other her cereal. She quickly grabbed her camera and shot a quick picture of this precious moment. The flash caught Angel and Catherine's eyes. It was as if the same set of eyes turned to look at her and the widened with happiness when they saw her.

"Mommy me and daddy eating breakfast."

"I see that."

"Want bite?" Catherine held up a dripping spoonful of cereal.

"No thanks baby."

"Bite mommy." Catherine said insistently and Cordy finally relented and went over and took a bite of the soggy mess. She almost gagged as she swallowed it.

"That is disgusting. How can you eat this?" She whispered to Angel.

"Vampire, I don't taste the food." He said with a grin.

"Lucky asshole. Come one baby, let's get you dressed."

"Cordy, I think that I can dress myself."

"I know that, I was talking to your daughter."

"I knew that." He said sheepishly.

"I love you." Cordy said as he walked into the bathroom for his shower and he mouthed the same words to her before shutting the door behind him.

"Good morning." Cordy said to Fred and Wes as they all walked into the lobby, As usual Fred and Wes were the first to arrive at the office.

"Did you get the report from last night?" Angel asked Wes. Angel was really glad to be back at work

"Yes I did. It would seem that the vampire activity has significantly dropped over the past few weeks."

"Good. The slayers have been doing their jobs and the smarter vamps have left town." Angel said as he rummaged through the fridge in his office. "Did someone move my blood?" Angel and Cordy had decided not to keep the blood in the fridge in their room because Catherine could easily get to it,

"Not to my knowledge. Why would they?"

Angel slammed the door shut and rubbed the back of his neck. He then noticed the empty bottle that contained his blood in the trashcan. "God Dammit. Spike." He growled and stormed out of his office.

Spike was happily coming down the stairs oblivious to a very angry Angel charging after him. Before he knew what was going on, he was flying across the room due to a punch in the face.

"What climbed up your ass you dumb wanker?" Spike muttered as he pulled himself off of the floor.

"You did."

"What's got you so pissy this beautiful morning?"

"You drank all of my blood."

"Sorry mate. I didn't know that it was yours." Angel grabbed Spike by the neck and shoved him against the wall.

"Who the hell else drinks blood besides me?" He pulled his arm back to hit him but Cordy stopped him before he could.

"Angel, enough. Catherine is standing right here." Angel looked over and saw his daughter's eyes staring at him.

"But Cordy, he drank all of my blood."

"For God's sake, its just blood."

"You would do the same thing if he ate the last doughnut Cordy." She couldn't argue with him because he was right. She would take someone's head off if they had eaten her last doughnut.

"I've called Connor to stop at the butcher shop on his way over here and get you some more. OK?" Angel sighed and released Spike who walked past Angel brushing off invisible dirt from his jacket. Angel tried to go after him but Cordy held him back.

Surprising everyone in the room except for Spike Catherine ran over to him and threw her arms around his legs. "Uncle Spikey." Cordy's eyes widened in surprise and Angel saw red. Fred and Wes mouthed "Uncle Spikey" To each other.

"Hello Princess. Don't you look pretty today?"

"Fly me, Uncle Spikey."

"Whatever you want princess." He picked her up, one hand on her belly and the other holding her two little hands in his other hand and spun her around in the air. She squealed in delight and Cordy's heart dropped into her stomach. She was convinced that Spike was going to drop her.

"Ok Spike, that's enough. I don't want her to fall." Cordy said.

"Ok, princess mommy said no more. She is such a party pooper." Spike said as he set Catherine back on the ground.

"Party pooper." Catherine said to Cordy and Spike howled with laughter. "Fly Uncle Spikey, fly."

Angel came over and picked Catherine up. "He is not your Uncle Catherine." He said sternly and tears filled her eyes.

"I think she likes me, she really likes me." Spike said

"Stay away from my daughter." Angel growled

"All I want is to be her friend. Can't I be her friend?"

"Shut up Spike." He growled.

"A great idea just occurred to me." Wesley said interrupting the death glare contest. Neither vampire answered him so he continued. "Angel, I think that today you should train with Spike. Connor probably needs a break."

"A pissing contest with Angel. Now that's my idea of a great time."

"Bring it on Blondie."

"Just don't kill each other." Cordy said as she collected Catherine from Angel.

"Come on Cordy. Let me kill him. Please." Spike begged.

"You can't kill me Spike. Let's go."

"Be careful, don't push yourself too hard and relapse." She whispered in his ears.

"I won't." He said as he kissed her lips.

"Liar. I'll be watching you."

"I'm counting on it." He kissed her again.

The remainder of the day Spike and Angel tried numerous times to kill each other while Cordy and Fred attempted to referee.

"Is that all you got wussy man?" Spike said as he picked himself off of the ground.

"I'm just getting warmed up you little piss ant." Angel ducked as Spike tried to kick him in the face. Angel retaliated with his own kick to Spike's face.

"I'm a piss ant?" Spike shouted as he threw Angel against the wall. "My piss is to good for you."

"At least my hair looks good, unlike your freaky blond radioactive hair color." Angel hit Spike upside the head with an ax.

"Talk about hair issues. I don't know what makes you think that you have cute hair. You have no reflection dumbass. You can't see how stupid it looks."

"My God, two guys arguing about hair. This is classic." Fred giggled

"Especially since neither of them can actually see their own heads." Cordy said.

"Cordy thinks it's cute." Spike got kicked in the gut.

"Don't bring me into this." Cordy shouted.

"See mate, she even thinks it's hideous. She only told you it's cute so she can get some." Angel received a kick to the back of his knees that brought him down.

"You're just jealous that I have a beautiful woman who loves me. Something that you will never have." His fist sent Spike flying into the wall.

"Ohh talking about how beautiful I am, this I can listen to all day." Cordy giggled.

"Hello nim-rod! Have you forgotten that I tapped Buffy numerous times?" Now they were just swinging at each other, not really connecting with each other but it was a great practice on dodging blows.

"Hello, don't give a shit who you've tapped or how many tomes you've tapped someone. Numbers don't matter. All that matters is that you will never have an amazing woman who loves you and who you love back with everything that you have."

"Coming from the bloke who can't get any without going all Angelus Crankypants."

"But which one of us have two children?"

"Who wants rugrats anyway? All they do is eat, piss, shit and cry." Spike said as Angel pummeled his face.

"You" Punch "Have." Punch "No." Punch "Idea." Punch "About" Punch "The" Punch "Joy""Of" Punch "Fatherhood" Angel screamed and Cordy and Fred decided that it was time to end the training session. They ran over to Angel and pulled him off of Spike.

"OK big guy. You have had enough practice for today."

"Nice job, Beefcake. but just so you know, I could of taken you times many times today but I decided to give you a break seeing how you were recently turned into a piece of bacon."

"Bullshit Spike."

"All right boys, that's enough. Good workout." Fred said as she led Spike out of the room.

"How long have we been down here?" Angel asked as he mopped the sweat off of his face.

"Hours baby. It's late afternoon." He grinned at her.

"Really? I've been down here that long?" She nodded. "Be honest babe, did I hold my own with Spike or did he go easy on me?"

"Honestly?"

"Did I not just say that?"

"You kicked his ass Angel. He did not go easy on you at all. In fact, I think that he gave you all that he had and you won." He leaned in to kiss her but she put her hand in front of his face. "No way am I kissing that sweat and blood filled mug of yours."

"You kissed my sweaty face before."

"Different circumstances buster. Shower first then kiss." She swatted his ass and walked away leaving him ogling her ass.

--

Angel came back down to the lobby feeling refreshed after a shower and nap. He felt like a new man for having walked away from fighting with Spike for hours. He heard laughter coming from the kitchen so he headed towards the sound. When he arrived in the kitchen, he stopped dead in his tracks and stared straight ahead at the scene before him. Spike was taking over his life and family.

At the end of every day if they weren't dealing with demons or vamps everyone tried to sit down together for dinner, except tonight it was very different. Instead on Angel sitting at the table, Spike was in his seat next to Catherine. He had everyone laughing at some stupid joke and he was cutting Catherine's food for her, something that he always did for her. It seemed to him that no one was missing his presence. Cordy was allowing "Uncle Spikey" to help Catherine eat. Even Connor who has been training with Spike since he arrived was enjoying Spike being there instead of him.

Furious, Angel stormed away from the dining room and onto the patio slamming the door behind him. He was furious. Spike was taking his family away from him, the family that he worked so hard for and the family that he loved more than anything. He wanted to kill Spike. He wanted to rip his body apart, piece-by-piece, and limb-by-limb. He was in the middle of formulating a plan of how to make Spike scream in pain when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He didn't even have to turn around to know that it was Cordy.

"You have showered, how about that kiss now?" She whispered. He turned around and pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently. "What's eating you baby?" She asked him when they pulled apart.

"Nothing." He mumbled and she raised her eyebrows. "OK fine, Spike."

"So that's nothing new. What is so different tonight?"

"He is taking my family away from me."

"That's not possible. He can't take your family away from you."

"I saw you all having dinner tonight and it was like no one even missed me. He was cutting Catherine's food. I do that. Connor has been training with him. He is supposed to train with me." Cordy cupped his face with her hand and forced him to look at her.

"Angel, they are your children, they will always love you but right now he is the new thing exciting thing in their lives. I think that he may remind them of you in a way. You have been healing for a while and you haven't been available to them and since you have gotten better, you have been spending all of your free time regaining your strength, which don't get me wrong you needed to do."

"So what can I do?"

"You need to spend some quality alone time with them."

"Well it's kind of difficult since I'm a vampire and I can't do anything at night."

"What a lame excuse. You go out during the day all of time. There are ways around it Angel. Take Connor and Ciara to a ball game. You guys had so much fun the first time and I know that there is a night game tomorrow night and you could take Catherine to the Children's museum. I could drop you two off in the shade and there are no windows inside the museum so it will be perfect. I think that she will love it."

"That is a great idea. Why don't you come with us?'

"No. I have been around for the past seven weeks. You haven't. They need to spend some time with just me."

"Thank you for bringing me back down to earth."

"That's what I'm here for."

"So do we need some alone time?"

"I think that we do."

"Any ideas?"

"You know what I like. I will let you come up with plan all on your own." She said seductively.

"Believe me gorgeous, I've got ideas." He said grinning and he leaned down and kissed her passionately.


	51. Chapter 51

Cordy pulled the car over and parked it on the side of the road. Angel, with his coat over his head, jumped out and ran into the shade. Cordy unbuckled Catherine from her car seat and took her over to her father.

"OK, you have straight shot in the shade to the museum. Can you handle that?"

"Yes dear, I think that we will be fine, won't we chipmunk?" Catherine just giggled.

"Call me when you are ready to leave, and I'll meet you right here." Angel kissed her.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine." He whispered.

"Catherine, you be a good girl for daddy."

"I good girl."

"Have fun baby."

"Have fun." Catherine replied. Angel took her hand and they walked to the museum. Cordy didn't leave until they were safely in the door. Because of Angel's last excursion outdoors, she considered staying right there, but she knew that Angel would be angry if he saw her, so she slowly pulled away and headed back to the hotel.

"Daddy, look." Catherine squealed when she saw the giant play area with slides and tunnels. It was so big that Angel would be able to crawl in there with her. She grabbed his hand and proceeded to drag him over to the play area. "Mon, Daddy, play."

"OK, chipmunk. First we have to take off your shoes." She ignored him and headed to the slide. This was Angel's first problem of the day. "Catherine, wait. We have to take your shoes off" He picked her up and she kicked him. "Settle down, right now, young lady and let me take your shoes off."

"NO." She yelled and she hit him with her tiny hand.

"Catherine Suzanne Angel, you do not hit." Just to prove to him that she could, she did it again. "That's it. You are going to time out." He said sternly and she began to cry. He looked around and saw an empty bench in front of a giant slide. He carried her over there and plopped her down on it. She immediately got up and tried to run but her father was too quick for her. He picked her back up and sat her right back down. He bent down to her level and looked her right in the eyes. "You are in time out. You will sit here." Her big brown eyes were full of tears and her bottom lip was quivering. Angel had a strong desire to pick her up, hug her and let her play but he knew that he had to be strong. He sat next to her for two very long minutes while she sniffled next to him.

"Catherine, you do not hit. That was very bad. Now, you tell daddy you are sorry." He said to her when her time was up.

"Sorry daddy." She whispered.

"Can I have a hug?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "I love you chipmunk."

"Love you daddy." He quickly removed their shoes and they began to climb through the tunnels. She was fast, and lucky for him his vampire speed worked well for crawling. When they arrived at the slide, he pulled her onto his lap and they slid down, Catherine laughing the entire time. He went back up with her a few more times and then she insisted on going alone. He was nervous, but he knew that he could get to her within a matter of seconds if she needed him so he relented and his little independent daughter went off by herself.

"Which one is yours?" A very attractive red head asked him.

"Dark hair in the green tunnel." He replied never taking his eyes off of Catherine.

"Mine is the redhead in the blue tunnel."

"That's nice."

"How old is she?"

"Two."

"Wow, she is pretty brave to go up there by herself." Angel finally looked at her for a quick second.

"She is just like her mother."

"Is she with you?"

"No." He said simply and the redhead raised her eyebrows. She also noticed that he wasn't wearing a ring on his left hand.

"Daddy watch." Catherine yelled from the top of the slide.

"I'm watching." She slid down with a look of pure delight on her face. She clapped her hands and ran up to do it again.

"She is beautiful." The redhead said as she placed her hand on his upper arm.

Angel sighed. He wasn't in the mood for these games. He gently removed her hand. "Yes, she is beautiful. In fact she looks just like her mother, who is waiting at home for us. I didn't come here today to make any new friends. I came here to spend the day with my daughter, now, if you don't mind, I would like to get back to that." He said without ever looking at her. "Come on, chipmunk, let's go paint." Catherine grabbed his hand and they walked off leaving the redhead standing there with her mouth wide open in shock.

By the end of the afternoon Angel and Catherine had went through a maze, explored a cave, went for a ride in a train through the inside of the human body, and she painted a bowl for her dad. Unfortunately, everything was not perfect. He had to deal with multiple women hitting & flirting with him. At one point he seriously considered taping a sign to his back that would let them know that he was in love with another woman. Catherine had thrown another fit during lunch when Angel wouldn't let her eat only cookies. She got over it after she ended up in another time out and ended up without any cookies. They were playing with giant blocks, waiting until they had to leave to meet Cordy when Angel noticed a woman lurking around him and Catherine. His first thought was she was hanging around to flirt with him but he noticed that she was watching Catherine, not him, and then he picked up a very familiar scent. Making sure Catherine was occupied; he got up from his spot on the floor, walked over to the woman, grabbed her by the elbow and drug her to the side of the room. She was in full vamp mode when Angel swung her around to face him.

"Do you have any idea who you are messing with?" She growled. Angel vamped.

"Do you?" He growled back. "No one can think about drinking my daughter and live to tell about it." And with one swift movement, he drove a stake that he was carrying with him, right into her heart and watched with great satisfaction as she turned into a pile of dust.

"Are you ready to go see mommy chipmunk?" He asked his daughter. She nodded and allowed him to pick her up. He knew that she was exhausted and by the time they reached Cordy, she was sound asleep on his shoulder.

--

"You really staked her right there in the museum?" Connor asked laughing.

"She wanted to eat your sister. Hell yes I staked her." Angel responded.

"Why is that guy running out there?" Ciara asked.

"He is trying to steal second….He did it." Connor stood up cheering and Ciara looked more lost.

Angel, Connor and Ciara were sitting at a Dodgers night game. Their seats were three rows behind home plate thanks to a friend of Lorne's who got them these amazing seats. Connor and Angel were loving it and Ciara, who was not a sports fan was completely lost. All three of them were wearing the Dodger jerseys that Cordy had bought them. It was a sight to see. Connor and Ciara begged Cordy to come with them, but she insisted she had to stay home with Catherine. They finally got her to agree to a double date at a later time.

"So stealing is a good thing?" Ciara asked and Connor had to bite back a laugh.

"It's only good as long as it's our team that's doing the stealing."

"Oh I give up."

"Don't worry baby, you'll get it one day." Connor kissed her forehead.

"I'm going to get a beer." She announced. Angel's mouth dropped open. "Yes I do drink beer. I am of age."

"I didn't say a word."

"You were thinking it. Do you guys want anything?" Angel jumped to his feet.

"I'll go."

"No, you guys stay and watch whatever it is that they are doing out there. I won't care if I miss anything. You guys would be miserable if you missed a touchdown."

"Trust me honey, that won't happen." Connor said laughing

"It could happen." She said placing her hands on her hips.

"Touchdowns are in football not baseball."

"Whatever." She was becoming slightly frustrated. "Now do you want anything?" Connor ordered a beer and two hot dogs. Angel gave her some cash insisting that this whole night was his treat. She kissed them both and headed off.

"Dad, did they have baseball when you were a kid?" The guy next to Connor gave him the oddest look, because, number one Angel didn't look old enough to be his father and secondly, baseball has been around for years.

"We had something similar, but we didn't call it baseball. Actually, I don't remember what we called it or if we called it anything at all."

"What did you do?" Connor was genuinely interested in his father's life as human. He just wished that he would talk about it more often.

"We had a stick and someone would throw a piece of fruit from a nearby tree and we would see who could hit it the farthest."

"Did you win?" Angel grinned

"I held my own."

"Do you miss being human?" Now the guy next to them was convinced that that they had escaped from a mental institution.

"I can hardly remember it and what I do remember isn't all that pleasant."

"You just remembered something pleasant."

"OK, you're right but it's weird to think about. If I had never met Darla, then I never would have been turned, and if I was never turned then I wouldn't have saved the lives that I had saved, I never would have met Cordy and I wouldn't have you, Ciara or Catherine. So I guess the answer to your question, is no I don't miss it because I am much happier now then I ever was as a human."

"What was Darla like?" Angel looked at his son. Connor has never really asked about Darla before.

"Honestly son, she was evil. She was almost as bad as Angelus was, but she changed when she was pregnant with you."

"How did she change?"

"Because you are my son, you had a soul, and you shared your soul with her and she experienced a feeling that she has never had before. She loved you Connor."

"Then why did she stake herself?"

"Because she knew that as soon as you were born and she would lose that shared soul and in turn she would lose that feeling. In fact she would forget that she even loved you and her only desire would be to kill you so she did the only thing that she could, she killed herself while she still loved you to save your life."

"Wow."

"Do you wish that you had a childhood?"

"Sometimes when I watch Catherine playing and see all of the innocence of her, I wish that I could of have had that. On the other hand, if I were actually my true age, I wouldn't have met Ciara and being in love with her is worth not having a childhood but I do worry about what kind of father I will be without having a childhood."

"Something I should know?"

"No, not yet. We are young, we have lots of time."

"Well Connor, when the time comes I know that you will be a great father."

"I have a great role model." Father and son smiled at each other when Ciara returned with the hot dogs and beer. She handed Angel a beer.

"Ciara, I didn't ask for this."

"I know but it's part of the whole baseball experience." She said grinning.

--

"I can't believe that all of those woman were flirting with you. What nerve. You were there with your daughter for crying out loud. What tramps." Ciara ranted. They were walking home from the game, which the home team won. Ciara was walking in between Connor and Angel, each of her hands holding one of their hands.

"It's amazing how much things have changed since I was young. Back then, women waited for the man to make the first move unless of course they were prostitutes." Angel said grinning

"Did you associate with them?" Ciara asked. Angel chose not to answer but his silence was answer enough.

"Damn dad, you did."

"Only occasionally, but I was never at a loss for an available woman. I was quite the stud back in the day."

"You were a male whore." Ciara said and Angel laughed.

"At times I was. Not my finest moment but now I am a one woman man."

"And a damn good one at that." Connor said.

Suddenly someone or something came up behind Ciara and grabbed her. She screamed and turned into her demon half but her attacker wasn't scared. Ciara fought with all of her might, but it was of no use. The vampire that had her was too strong for her. Connor and Angel immediately jumped into action. Without speaking they each knew that Connor would be the one to stake the bastard who grabbed his wife. Angel grabbed the vamp and threw him to the ground and he then grabbed a sobbing Ciara. Connor jumped on top of the vamp, and staked him then quickly ran over and took his wife in his arms, who had slightly calmed down.

"I love you." Ciara cried into Connor's chest.

"I know sweetie, I know." He crooned. Angel stood back and watched his son, soothe his wife. He was so proud of the man that Connor had become.

They all parted ways at the hotel. Ciara hugged Angel tightly. "Thank you for saving my life today." She whispered

"Connor did most of the work."

"Can I ask you something Angel?"

"You know that you can ask me anything."

"Can I call you dad?" She asked softly.

"Ciara, I would be honored. I already think of you as a daughter."

"I love you dad."

"I love you Ciara."

As soon as Connor and Ciara pulled safely away he happily ran to his room. Cordy was asleep in bed but woke up as soon as he loudly burst into the room, turning on the lights. She was going to yell at him, but as soon as she saw the huge grin on his face she changed her mind.

"Have fun?" She asked as he stripped out of his clothes and climbed into bed wearing his boxers.

"Ciara asked if she could call me dad." He said happily. His eyes were sparkling with happiness.

"That's great babe."

"Connor and I had a great conversation. We talked a little about Liam's childhood and adolescence. Ciara called me a male whore. He asked about Darla and he is thinking about fatherhood."

"Now?" Ciara didn't tell her that she was pregnant.

"No. According to Connor, they are young and they have lots of time."

"Good. They need time to just enjoy each other and speaking of enjoying each other…"

"Tomorrow is your day baby." He said as he leaned forward and kissed her gently.

"Well it is technically tomorrow." She whispered.

"You have to wait because when we enjoy each other we are going to do it without having to worry about waking Catherine, or keeping our voices down."

"OK then." She pouted and he kissed her nose.

"Don't worry, it will be well worth the wait."

"It better be buster." She giggled as he pulled her tightly into his arms.

"Thank you for today Cordy. It was a perfect day, with the exception of the vampire attacks."

"I didn't do anything but put the idea in your thick noggin. Wait did you say attacks? I thought that there was only one."

"There was another one that attacked Ciara on the way home from the game."

"Is she OK?"

"Just shaken up but Connor is taking good care of her."

"Like father like son."

"I love you Cordelia."

"I love you Angel."


	52. Chapter 52

Angel woke up early the next morning and looked over at the amazing woman lying next to him. He still couldn't believe that she had forgiven him and she still loved him. He had done a lot of thinking about the woman who had flirted with him and he decided to do something that would end it or at least somewhat discourage it. He had a plan and as much as he wanted to stay in bed and watch her sleep, he had too much to do, so he reluctantly pulled himself out of bed. He quickly showered, dressed then went to check on Catherine who was still sleeping. He kissed both of his girl's heads and slowly slipped out of the room.

Once in the privacy of his office he called the hotel to make a reservation. Even though they won't be able to make love, like the last time they were at this hotel, but he planned to make tonight as special as their first time just without the sex.

"Hey dad, you ready?" Connor asked as he walked into his father's office.

"Not yet, I need to call Wes and Lorne to make sure that they are up to speed."

"Dad, relax. Everything is going to be fine."

"What about Ciara? Does she know what to do?"

"Ciara knows what needs to happen, and it will happen. Now can we go?"

"Almost, let me go let her know that I'm leaving." Angel walked into the lobby and headed up the stairs, passing Ciara on the way.

"Oh my God Connor, he is so damn cute when he is nervous." Ciara said to Connor as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"He only gets nervous when Cordy is involved."

"I'm so excited." She said happily.

Cordy was just waking up when Angel walked back into their room. He heard Catherine talking through the monitor. He kissed her gently on the lips.

"Morning." She said smiling.

"Good morning. Ciara is downstairs and was hoping that you would want to go shopping."

"I love shopping." She noticed that Angel was avoiding making eye contact with her. "What's wrong with you? Why are you nervous? What did you do?"

"Nothing baby, I just excited about tonight. Look, I need to go pick up some stuff so you go shopping and have fun OK?"

"I don't buy it Angel"

"Look, I'm planning a small surprise for you so can you just let it go?" Her eyes light up.

"A surprise for me? Really? I love surprises. Can I have a hint?"

"Just one." Angel leaned forward until his mouth was right next to her ear. "It's for you."

"Bastard." She muttered as he headed for the door.

"Love you too babe."

--

"Dad this is a pretty high end place. Are you sure that you can afford it?"

"I took care of a demon problem for the owner so he owes me a favor."

"Nice to know that there is a method to your madness for not charging some clients."

"I'm not mad. I'm smart. Cordy loves jewelry." Angel said grinning as they walked into the jewelry store.

"Angel. Good to see you. What brings you in?" Al said

"I'm here to collect on my bill from that little problem of yours that I took care of."

"Whatever you want, it's yours. Do you have anything in particular in mind?"

"Engagement and wedding rings."

"That's a big step Angel. Taking the plunge. Being legally attached to woman for the rest of your life, which from what I understand would be a very, very, very long time."

"Rings now." Angel growled.

Al led them over to a case that held what Angel was looking for. He didn't want anything huge or gaudy because it wasn't who she was and but she deserved something bigger then the smallest ring that was in the case. Angel examined every ring in the case twice, wanting to make sure he chose the perfect ring for her perfect finger.

"I'll take this one, I think. Connor what do you think?' Angel asked his son.

"Dad, it's not my choice. You know her better than anyone and you know what she'll like."

Angel stared at the ring in his hand. It was a white gold ring with a square shaped diamond and then three smaller square shaped diamonds on either side of the larger one. He finally decided to purchase that ring along with two matching white gold wedding bands with diamonds encircling the band, one male and female ring.

Angel clutched his purchases tightly in his hand as he and Connor left the store. Connor left Angel standing in shade and went to go pick up his truck.

"Angel." He turned at the sound of his name and came face to face with Nathan.

"What is going on? Is this about the visions that were sent to me when I was sick because I did everything that I could to do to have my father forgive me."

"Relax Angel. The Powers sent you your victims for you, to help you forgive yourself Angel. Have you done that?"

"I'm not ready to."

"You will be in time."

"So what are you doing here Nathan?" He held out a familiar looking bottle.

"This is a wedding present from the Powers."

"How did…"

"The Powers know everything Angel. We originally planned on presenting this to Cordelia because of all of the hard work during the time that you were healing. She went over and above her call of duty during that time. But now that you are getting married, they thought that this would be the perfect way of extending our thanks to her."

"What if she says no?" He wasn't convinced that she would agree to this idea of his.

"Then use it anyway. The same rules as before apply. Do you recall them?"

"Two hours from the first sip, and one second past the time Angelus returns."

"Enjoy yourself." Nathan turned and walked away leaving Angel standing on the sidewalk holding the potion.

"Dad" Angel put his coat in over his head and ran to Connor's truck.

"Who was that?"

"An old friend." He said softly holding the precious bottle tightly.

--

"All right girls, what are we doing here?" Cordy asked as Fred and Ciara drug her into the park. They have been acting strange all day while shopping; basically forcing her to buy a fancy white dress that she has no use for.

"There is someone here that wants to see you." Fred said

"Who could possibly want to meet me here in the park?"

"Look over there." Ciara pointed to a large shaded area under the trees. Cordy's eyes followed Ciara's finger and settled on Angel standing in the middle of the trees. Now, thoroughly confused, she jogged over to him.

"Angel?" She asked questioningly. He answered her with a sweet kiss. "What is going on?" She asked when they broke apart. She stared at him in amazement as he dropped to one knee and took her hand. "Angel?"

"When I had Catherine at the museum yesterday, all of these women were flirting with me. They had no idea that I was in love with the most wonderful woman ever put on this earth so I thought that if I wore a ring on my hand it would tell the whole world that you have my heart. But then I thought that because you are so beautiful, that you needed a ring also to stop all of the men that would try and pick you up. So that train of thought led me here, to this moment. I know that I am dead and we can't technically be married but I love you Cordy and I want to be with you for the rest of my life, which we both know is a very long time. I don't need the whole legality of a marriage certificate I just want to make a promise in front of our family and friends that I will love you, for better or worse, in sickness and health, until death we part. Will you make that promise with me? In other words, will you marry me Cordelia Chase?' He had tears in his eyes, threatening to fall.

"You already have my promise Angel, but if you want I will make it in front of our family and friends." Tears were falling from her eyes he stood up and pulled the ring out of his pocket and placed it on the ring finger of her left hand. "Oh my God, you bought me a ring?"

"Do you like it?" She nodded and threw her arms around his neck, covering his face with kisses. There friends seeing this happy moment gathered around them.

"When are we going to do this?' She asked wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Tonight." Everything finally clicked in her brain.

"You all knew didn't you?" They nodded. "The dress you forced me to buy today." Fred and Ciara giggled. "Catherine needs a new dress. We have to go shopping."

"All ready done. Remember when Ciara's phone wouldn't get a signal?" Cordy nodded. "She went and bought Catherine a dress."

"My God, there is so much to do." She began to panic.

"Hey, it's all done. All you have to do is get ready."

"I love you." She kissed him. "I'll see you soon." She whispered lovingly.

"Looking forward to it."

"Ladies, we have to move NOW." Angel, Wes, Gunn and Connor laughed as they watched the woman they loved headed off on a mission.

--

The sun had set and Angel stood nervously at the front of the lobby, wearing a suit that Cordy loved. Angel decided that he didn't want an official wedding ceremony because in fact, it wasn't a real ceremony. He was technically dead and you can't marry a dead person. There were no bridesmaids, or groomsman. All of their friends were standing in the lobby waiting for the woman of the hour. Lorne was standing in front of the check-in desk because he would be the one performing the non-ceremony.

"Daddy." Catherine screeched and Angel looked up and saw his children walking hand and hand down the steps towards him. Connor looking very handsome in his suit and Catherine looking absolutely adorable with her hair full of curls wearing a frilly pink dress. "Hi daddy." Angel bent down and picked Catherine up with one arm and slung the other around his son.

"You look very pretty chipmunk."

"Thank you. Daddy pretty too." Catherine replied and everyone laughed. Suddenly Lorne began to sing 'Wonderful Tonight'. All eyes rotated to the top of the staircase and Angel saw his own angel descending towards him, dressed all in white.

"Pretty." Catherine whispered looking at her mother.

"No chipmunk, beautiful."

"Boo-fel." Cordy was wearing a sleeveless dress with a tight fitting satin bust. Underneath her breasts the dress flowed out into multiple folds, ending right at her knees. She was carrying a simple bouquet of red roses. As she walked over to him, they never took their eyes off of each other. It was as if everyone else in the room had disappeared and it was only the two of them.

"Cordelia and Angel, your love is the reason that we have gathered to here today. A celebration of true love. During the course of your relationship, I have seen you climb mountains and walk across a field of flowers to be with each other. Throughout the good times and bad your love has proven to be unbreakable. I have never seen two people more meant for each other then you two. I wish you all of the happiness in the world. Now let's get down to business. Please join hands." The couple did as asked. "Angel, do you promise to love honor and cherish Cordelia, in sickness and health, weakness and strength, in wealth and despair, forsaking all others until death parts you."

"I will." Angel said softly.

"Do you Cordelia Chase do you promise to love honor and cherish Angel, in sickness and health, weakness and strength, in wealth and despair, forsaking all others until death parts you."

"I will." She whispered tearfully.

"Then by the power vested in me, which is none, I now pronounce you husband and wife, although one of you is dead and the other is part demon and none of this will stand up in a court of law."

"LORNE." Everyone shouted.

"OK, OK. Angel, you may now kiss the beautiful woman standing in front of you." Angel's hands cupped her cheeks and he pulled her close to him.

"Thank you for making me the happiest man or vampire ever. I love you."

"Thank you for making me the happiest woman ever. I love you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed passionately. They broke apart when Catherine grabbed their legs.

"Up, daddy, up." Her daddy willing obliged his girl and lifted her into his arms.

"Does anyone have my camera?" Fred handed it to her. "Angel, Catherine look at me and smile. Catherine say cheese" and thus began the picture taking session.

Three hours later they all parted ways at the restaurant and Cordy and Angel were making out in the back of the limo that Angel had rented for the evening.

"Hmmmm." She sighed as Angel ran his tongue down her neck.

"You taste so good." He mumbled through closed eyes as her hands ran through his hair.

"There are other parts of my body that taste much better then my neck."

"All in good time princess. Good things come to those who wait." She unbuttoned the first couple of buttons on his shirt and slid her hand onto his finely sculpted chest.

"I missed this so much. I've missed your hands and lips all over my body."

"I missed putting them all over you." The car stopped and shut off. They were at the hotel.

"Thank God, because I can't wait much longer." Cordy said as she yanked Angel out of the limo. "Luggage is in the trunk." She said to the bellboy as she drug Angel into the hotel.

"That was rude." He said to her.

"I'm horny and I want to get you out of your clothes as quickly as possible." She whispered in his ear. "Now check us in." Angel grinned as he checked them in, thinking she was in for a big surprise.

"Can someone take the bags to our room please, we are going for a walk."

"Of course Mr. Angel. Enjoy your stay."

"Walk, I don't want to go for a walk." Cordy whined as Angel walked her to the back door.

"Just for a few minutes hon."

"So Patrick Angel, where are we headed?" Cordy loved using his alias because it drove him crazy.

"Right here." They were walking hand and hand on the sand towards the ocean. Unfortunately it was too dark to see the water. They took off their shoes, Angel rolled up his pants and they walked into the water. "I know that you bring Catherine here every weekend and how much you love the ocean. Even if it's too cold to swim, you are still out here with her. Your love for this is rubbing off on her. I wish to God that I could be standing out here with you, during the day staring out into the water. Since I can't give you that, this is the next best thing Cordy, standing here with you, staring out into the black ocean with the waves crashing at our feet."

"God, who knew you were such a softie."

"When it comes to you I am a softie."

"Angel, there are so many things that I wish that we could have. I wish that you could be out here in the sun with me, I wish that we could take Catherine on a picnic in the park on a Sunday afternoon, and I wish like hell that we could have sex but I knew what we could and couldn't do when I fell in love with you, so quit apologizing for something that you have no control over. I'm happy and so is Catherine so no worries. I love you and everything that goes along with loving you."

"I love you too Cordy" She kissed him hard, running her hand down to the front of his pants.

"Cordy…"He groaned.

"There is a lot more where that came from baby." She then walked off, leaving him staring after her. "You coming?" He quickly snapped out of his staring daze and jogged over to Cordy.

The ride in the elevator was painfully long and if there wasn't a surveillance camera in the elevator, they may have gotten down to business right there, but they restrained themselves. It had been almost a year since they had any intimate contact with each other so they were both sexually frustrated. Angel unlocked the door and Cordy started to rush in but Angel held her back.

"It's your wedding day, so you have to be carried over the threshold." She giggled like a little girl as he swooped her into his arms and stepped over through the doorway kissing her the entire time.

"I love you." She murmured as he deposited her on the bed.

"We have a wedding gift."

"Ohh I love presents." She said happily

He went over to his suitcase, grabbing the bottle and his blood to put in the fridge before it went bad. He turned to face her and held the bottle in front of her and smiled as her eyes widened with recognition.

"Is that what I think it is?'

"The Powers gave it to us as a wedding gift for all of the hard work that you have done over the past couple of months," She scrambled off of the bed and threw herself at Angel. She took the bottle out of his hands, pulled the lid off the potion bottle and held it to his lips.

"Open wide baby." He opened his mouth and she poured the potion into his mouth. They both grinned and crashed their lips together.


	53. Chapter 53

**I own none of the characters of Angel **

**A/N- Warning- this chapter will contain lots of sexual material- for mature readers only.**

As soon as the last drop of potion went down his throat, Cordy ran over and set the alarm clock on the beside table for one hour and fifty -five minutes later. She wasn't taking any chances. Before she could turn back around she felt Angel's arms around her waist, mouth on her neck. She leaned her body back into him and moaned as his hand found her breast. His mouth suddenly needed to be on her mouth. He spun her around and crushed his mouth to hers. His tongue pushed his way into her mouth. She did the same. He gently pushed her against the wall; he needed some support because he felt like his legs were going to give out. Her hands found his belt buckle and quickly released him from the restraints of his pants. He slid his hand up her thigh to her hot center. He slipped his hand underneath her panties and found her hot and ready for him. She quickly removed her panties to allow him better access.

"God, right now, I need you inside of me." She whispered huskily in his ear. Not having to be asked twice he lifted her off of the ground and slid her right onto his throbbing erection. She moaned in delight as she wrapped her legs around him. "Oh dear God." Extremely grateful for his incredible strength, holding her by the hips he gently moved her up and down his shaft.

"Cordy, you feel so good." He groaned.

"Can you please go faster?" She begged. Gripping her hips tightly he moved her faster and they both quickly came to an intense orgasm. Before they both collapsed to the floor, with Cordy still attached to him and Angel's pants still around his ankles, he shuffled to the bed, depositing them on it.

"Oh my God, we must look like fools." She giggled.

"I really don't give a shit about how we look,"

"Maybe you can take your pants off and we can this the right way."

"Was something wrong with the way we just did it?"

"It was hot as hell, but I was hoping for something a little more slow, and tender."

"Hey you were the one who was begging me to go faster."

"Angel, get off of me." He reluctantly pulled himself out of her and rolled over. She stood up, unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor She reached behind her, unhooked her bra and threw it across the room.

"You are so beautiful." She bent down, removed his pants and tossed them aside; She then crawled into bed and straddled him. She leaned over him so her breasts brushed his mouth. His tongue gently swirled around her nipples while her hand slowly unbuttoned his shirt and finally exposed his beautiful chest. She scooted down, planting kisses on it. His hands roamed over her back down to her smooth beautiful ass. Her mouth found his nipples and she used her teeth to tease them. He groaned as she bit them. He quickly grabbed her hips and flipped her on her back.

"I love you my beautiful wife." He said grinning.

"I love you my handsome husband." She reached up and pulled him down to her and they kissed passionately.

"Make love to me Angel." She murmured

His mouth moved to her breasts, He took his time kissing them, sucking and biting her nipples as she did to him. Her fingers were running through his hair. He slid his fingers inside of her and as expected, she was soaking wet with desire. He quickly put his mouth where his fingers were and licked her like she was an ice cream cone.

"Ohhh….we…can….shit…do this…God damn…anytime." She managed to get out.

He lifted his head up from between her legs. "Are you complaining?"

"Hell no."

"Foreplay baby, it's all about the foreplay." He whispered and quickly resumed licking and sucking the most private area of her body.

"Dear God." She gasped as she squirmed beneath his mouth, Sweat was pouring off of her body, and she couldn't get close enough to him so with weak legs she raised her hips. It solved her problem somewhat but she wouldn't be close enough until he was inside of her. He felt her body tense up seconds before she achieved her orgasm and before she had come down from it he swiftly spread her legs and plunged himself inside of her.

"Damn Cordy, you are so tight. It feels so good." He groaned as he felt her body still contracting from her orgasm. He had been ready to explode for a while and before he could stop himself, after two thrusts he was spilling himself inside of her. "God, Dammit, I'm sorry baby." He panted.

"It's OK, after what you just did for me, you deserved it." He started to pull himself out of her but she stopped him. "Stay there baby. Just stay like this and kiss me and I'm sure, you'll be ready soon enough."

"You are too good to me."

"I beg to differ buster." She pulled him to her and they began to kiss. They kissed each other's lips, faces, necks, shoulders, chests, nipples, and any other body part that their mouths could access. Very soon Cordy felt Angel's desire begin to grow inside of her.

"See I told you he'd be back." She whispered huskily as Angel began long slow thrusts inside of her. She wanted to make love slowly and tenderly so by God that was what he was going to do. The last time that they had made love it was fast and passionate, because of their time issue, although they still had the time issue this Angel took his sweet time and neither of them had ever experienced anything so erotic before. She had never felt as close to anyone before as she did right now with Angel.

"Ummmmmm…..." She moaned and he knew she was getting close so he pulled out. "What the fuck?"

"Trust me." He whispered before he covered her lips with his own and kissed her deeply. When he felt her body relax, he slid back inside of her.

"Son….of…a…bitch." She breathed into his ear as he entered her again. He continued their lovemaking session with long slow thrusts, withdrawing just as she was about to climax then reentering her, making it feel like they were making love for hours.

"Angel, I can't take much more of this. I feel like I'm going to explode." She groaned when he pulled out of her.

"Relax and we'll finish this baby."

"Fast please."

"Now you want fast?" He grunted

"HELL YES." She yelled. He plunged himself back into her and treated her with hard, fast thrusts. Her nails dug into his back, her legs wrapped tighter around his waist and she met him thrust for thrust.

"Faster…harder…" She begged.

"Cor…can't…go….much…faster."

"Ohhhhhh…..Angel….so…close…."

"Let it go…."

"Ohmygod….Ohmygod…. ANGEL." She screamed when she achieved her mind-blowing orgasm.

"Cor….shit….CORDY." He yelled as he collapsed on top of her.

"That was." Kiss. "the best." Kiss. "sex." Kiss. "that I have" Kiss. "EVER had." Kiss. Cordy whispered between kisses.

"I would have to agree with you there." He pulled himself out of her and fell back onto the bed. Cordy positioned herself so she was lying in his arms with her head on his chest.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that?"

"What part?"

"Aren't you awfully cocky?"

"You could say that." He grinned and kissed her softly.

"This was the best wedding and honeymoon that I could have ever have dreamed of. Thank you for making it happen." She whispered sleepily.

"Thank you for making me the happiest man alive, figuratively of course. You have made me perfectly happy."

"Speaking of perfect happiness, I need to turn the alarm off." She rolled out of his arms.

"Cor…" He was feeling a familiar pain in his chest.

"Angel." She looked at him her eyes filled with panic and fear. "The alarm never went off. We are seventeen minutes past our time limit. Why the hell didn't it go off?" She said as she started to cry and play with the buttons on the clock.

"Cordy." The pain was getting worse but he was fighting it as hard as he could.

"God Dammit, I set it for AM and not PM."

"CORDELIA." She spun around and faced him with tears running down her face. " He's coming. I can't fight it much longer."

"No."

"You need to knock me unconscious, it will give you a head start."

"I can't."

"He'll kill you Cor."

"I can't."

"Knock me out and then get the hell out." He yelled.

"Please don't make me do this."

"We don't have much time." He groaned in pain. Cordy grabbed a standing lamp. The base of it was very heavy and would inflict the most damage. He handed her his wedding band. "Hold on to this until you get me back." She nodded. "You know what to do if it gets bad." She nodded. "At least now you know, without a doubt how I feel about you."

"I never doubted your feelings for me."

"I love you Cordelia." He screamed out in agony. Angelus was close.

"I love you too Angel." She sobbed. Looking the man that she loves in eyes and using all of her strength she brought the base of the lamp over his head. He screamed in pain and then collapsed. She ran over to her purse, grabbed her cell and with shaking hands, she dialed Wesley's number.

"Wes, I….Angel….We…." She sobbed

"Cordelia calm down and tell me what's wrong."

"Angelus is back."

"How did it happen?'

"We …potion….made love…over the time limit"

"Where is he?"

"Unconscious at the hotel. I hit him on the head."

"Keep him unconscious. I'll call Gunn and Connor and we will be right over."

"Make sure Fred and Ciara don't come."

"Of course. Be strong Cordelia." Wes said as he hung up.

Cordy ran over to their suitcase and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater. She then found Angel's boxers and with great difficulty slid them on, trying to him some sense of modesty. She heard moans coming from Angelus, so she picked up the lamp and hit him again. She was cleaning up their clothes when there was a knock at the door.

"Thank God." She said as ushered Wes and Connor in. "Where is Gunn? We might need him."

"He and Justine are back at the hotel, assembling a cage."

"He has woken up once already and I hit him again."

"We brought the tranq gun and between the three of us we should be able to get him back to the hotel." Wes said.

"I can't believe that this is happening." Cordy sobbed.

"How did this happen Cordy?" Connor asked

"I set the alarm but I set it for AM and not PM."

"You knew the risks. This is all your fault. How could you have been so careless?" He was glaring at her.

"We'll get him back Connor."

"I swear to God Cordy, if anything happens to my wife or sister, I will never forgive you." He snapped.

"Oh, is that my son? Did you finally grow some balls like your daddy?" Angelus said from the bed. Wes quickly shot two tranquilizers into Angelus and he quickly was unconscious.

"We have to hurry, we don't want him waking up before we get back. Are you ready Cordelia?" She tearfully nodded and the three of them managed to get Angelus to the car without anyone seeing them. Halfway back to the hotel, he began to stir again so Connor shot him with two more tranqs.

"How many tranqs will it take to keep him down?" Connor asked.

"A lot." Cordy whispered staring at the monster that had the face of the man she loved. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Connor was right. This was all her fault. She should have been more careful. She should have double-checked the setting on the clock. She should have been watching the time while they were making love. She should have…

"Cordy." Connor snapped. They were at the hotel. Gunn and Justine were standing outside of the car waiting for her to get out. She quickly climbed out of the car.

"Is the cage ready?" Wes asked

"Yeah, it's ready."

"Let's get him inside now." Cordy went over to help but Connor stopped her.

"Haven't you done enough already?" He whispered softly. She slowly stood back as the guys pulled the unconscious form out of the car. She followed behind them as they locked him in a cage. She stood staring at him until Gunn gently urged her to come upstairs.

"So how do we get his soul back?" Fred asked as Cordy walked into the room.

"Fred, what are you doing here?"

"Angelus is locked in a cage Cordy. We will be fine."

"Please, tell me that Ciara and Catherine aren't here too." Fred shook her head.

"Ciara is upstairs putting Catherine back to bed."

"Dammit, I didn't want you guys here. He is dangerous."

"Well you should have thought of that-" Connor began but Cordy interrupted him.

"Enough Connor. I know that this is my fault. You don't need to keep reminding me of how badly I screwed up. I'm sorry. I am so sorry." She yelled.

"Cordy, no one thinks that this is your fault." Wes said

"It doesn't matter what anyone thinks. I know that it's my fault and now I am asking for your help in getting the man I love, your friend" She looked at Gunn, Justine, Fred and Wes, "your father." She looked at Connor and Ciara who had joined them. " back. Can I count on your help?" They all nodded. "Wesley, what do we need to do?"

"The gypsies are out. They already restored his soul once and they only did that because the removed the curse. We need a witch."

"Do we know a witch?" Connor asked.

"Willow." Came Spike's voice from the doorway.

"Wes, can you call her?" He nodded and headed to his office. Cordy walked over to Spike. "We need your help."

"Well lil'lady I'm happy to oblige." Spike said in the worst southern accent that she had ever heard.

"Angelus is back. He is locked in a cage downstairs and I need you guard him."

"Can I kill him?"

"No Spike. Just be your normal self and torment him. Can you do that?"

"I can't wait." He said

"We'll you will have to. I need a minute alone with him first."

As she walked down the steps she heard his evil sneering voice. "Cordelia Chase. How the hell are you?"

"I hate you."

"I can't believe that you actually did what the weak ass Angel asked you to do. You actually hit him upside the head."

"You deserve a lot worse."

"By the way, you are one hell of a piece of ass."

"Kiss it then."

"I must say I was quite impressed with Angel boys technique. I taught him everything he knew. But you are quite the little sex machine aren't you?"

"I made love to Angel, not you."

"Think whatever you makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, but I remember how wet you got and how you moaned and screamed and-"

"ENOUGH. I am not talking about this with you. "

"What would you like to talk about sweetie pie? Our daughter, Catherine?"

"SHE IS NOT YOUR DAUGHTER."

"I beg to differ. I think that I would like to give her a kiss." Cordy saw red and stormed over to the cage.

"You will not come anywhere near her." He reached through the bars and put his hand around her neck.

"Care to repeat that?" He sneered as Cordy struggled to breathe. Suddenly he lost his grip on Cordy's neck because Spike grabbed it and twisted his arm.

"Go upstairs pet, I'll handle this." Spike instructed.

"Don't kill him."

"I won't. At least not right now." Spike said returning Angelus's grin.

"So when will Willow arrive?" Cordy asked as she reentered the lobby.

"Cordy, your neck? What happened?" Ciara asked when she saw the redness around Cordy's neck.

"Just a disagreement between Angelus and me. So Wes, Willow?"

"In 2-3 days. She is somewhere finding herself. Giles will track her down and get her here as soon as he can." Wesley said. "Look, there is nothing else that we can do right now. Spike will keep an eye on Angel. It's late and we are all tired so I suggest that we all get some sleep."

No one argued with him and they all retreated to rooms throughout the hotel. Cordy went straight to Catherine's room, picked her sleeping daughter out of her bed and placed her in bed with her.

"Mommy?" Catherine mumbled as she curled up next to Cordy.

"It's ok baby. Go back to sleep."

"Daddy?"

"Daddy went away for awhile but he'll be back."

"OK." After a minute when she knew that Catherine was asleep Cordy began to cry.

"Don't cry mommy. Is OK." Her shaking woke Catherine up. Cordy tightened her arms around her daughter.

"I hope so baby."


	54. Chapter 54

**I own none of the characters of Angel or the song Mandy by Barry Manilow**

_Well you came and you gave without taking  
And I sent you away, oh Mandy  
And you kissed me and stopped me from shaking  
And I need you today, oh Mandy_

"For the love of all things holy, will you shut the hell up, you tone-deaf ponce?" Spike roared. Angelus had been singing that song for hours and Spike was ready to lose his mind.

"I'm bored and you didn't let me finish." Angelus smirked before starting the song all over.

"I swear to God, if you don't shut up, I'll come in there and stake you myself."

"Come on Willy, let me out. Think of the fun that we could have again. Angelus and William the Bloody. We could turn LA red."

"I don't do that anymore. I got me a soul and microchip."

"You will do anything to get laid, won't you?"

"At least I can get laid mate."

"I'm not Angel. I can get me some any damn time that I want." Angelus growled

"Not from behind those bars you can't." Spike said laughing.

"God Dammit Spike, be your own man and let me the hell out of this damn cage."

"I am my own man Angelus. I'm a man on the free side of the cage."

"If you let me out of here, I promise to let you have a go at Cordelia before I kill her. I must admit she is a pretty decent piece of ass. The noises that she can make and the things that she can do with her mouth. I'm getting hard just thinking about it."

"I have no interests in your leftovers."

"You've never had a problem with them before. Dru, Darla, Buffy, why not add Cordelia to the list?"

"You are not getting out of there so give it up old man." In a rage Angelus grabbed the cage and shook the bars.

"You know, I always thought that you were weak, and you have just proven it to me, you sorry little man. Letting humans, lower beings; dictate how you live your life. You disgust me."

"First of all, no one tells me how I live my life. I am living my life how I want to live it."

"Yeah, sure you are."

"And secondly, I am by no means a little man. I have never had any complaints."

"I'm bigger."

"Bullshit. Check this out." Spike's hand reached for his belt buckle

"Keep it in your pants. I don't need to see that shit and besides I'm not carrying my magnifying glass."

"You must be losing your memory old man because Darla always liked what she saw."

"Darla was pathetic. She'd do anything with a penis, even it was smaller than mine."

"Is not"

"Is too."

"Is not."

"You're just jealous." Angelus sneered.

"Of what? Being locked in a cage?"

"Asshole."

"Asswipe."

"Wannabe."

"Old fart."

"Cocky bastard."

"Arrogant bastard."

"Prissy pants."

"Self serving dimwit."

"I'll give you that one Spike. I am self-serving, but it's the only way to live. I serve my self and no one else. What about you? Who do you serve?"

"It's not all about me anymore Angelus. It's about what is good."

"It's about what is good." Angelus mocked in a high-pitched voice. "You are such a woman."

"Am not."

"Am too."

"Am not."

"Jesus Spike, why are you here in LA? For the greater good? Hell no. You are here because Buffy told you to come not for the greater good. You hate Angel. You would have been fine just letting LA fall to pieces."

"Means to an end my friend. Means to an end."

"You came here to help Buffy's one true love so she would have a sense of gratitude and as a thank you she would bang you."

"Something like that."

"You are a vampire Spike and we take what we want. You want to bang Buff, then you bang her."

"You insensitive jackass."

"You pompous prick."

"Whiny bastard."

"I am so sick of you Spike. Make yourself useful and get me some blood. I'm hungry. How about an appetizer of Justine with a side of Wesley."

"Anything to get the hell away from you." Spike grumbled as he stomped upstairs to the lobby.

As much as he loved tormenting Spike and he wasn't really hungry, he needed to be alone. In his moment of rage when he shook the bars, he felt one loosen under his grip. He needed time alone to see if he could get it apart and then get out of the damned cage. With minimal force applied, he was able to remove the loosened bar. He slid his hand through the opening, and was able to reach the padlock. He easily pulled it apart.

"Simple minded fools, thinking that they can keep me locked in here like an animal." He said happily when he stepped out into the basement. He heard Spike coming back down the steps with his blood. He didn't have enough time to get back inside the cage so he improvised and hid behind the steps.

"Oh Angelus, breakfast is ready." Spike said. He was three steps from the bottom when Angelus reached out from behind his hiding place and grabbed his ankle, causing Spike to fall to the floor.

"God Dammit, Son of a bitch." Spike yelled as he picked himself up off the ground. He turned around and came face to face with Angelus. "How the hell did.." A fist making contact with his face, sending him across the room, into the wall, knocking him unconscious interrupted him.

"Now who is the man you little pipsqueak?" Angelus said grinning.

Hearing the ruckus, Wes, Gunn and Cordy ran down the steps.

"Oh dear God." Wesley said as soon as he saw Angelus.

"Yummy, I guess breakfast is really ready." He charged at them as they ran up the stairs. Gunn and Wesley locked the door behind them but he quickly knocked it down. "Now, I don't really appreciate being locked in a cage like I am a monster."

"You are a monster." Connor spat and Angelus threw him across the room.

"Son, is that anyway to talk to your daddy?"

"You. Are. Not. My. Father." Connor punctuated each word with a poke in the shoulder. "My father is Angel."

"You say Angel, I say Angelus. By the way, where is my beautiful daughter in law? I would love to give her a nice hello kiss?"

"You stay the hell away from my wife." Connor roared as he lunged towards Angelus who quickly sidestepped him and Connor crashed into the floor.

"God Connor, you disappointment me. No son of mine would have fallen for that pathetic move. " Connor quickly rose to his feet and lunged at Angelus again. This time he was able to knock him on the ground, but he quickly recovered.

"Connor." Ciara screamed from the top of the stairs.

"Ciara, darling, come give daddy a kiss." Angelus said happily.

"Ciara run." Cordy yelled but it was too late. Angelus was up the stairs in a flash and he grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Daddy's home." He leaned in to bite her but suddenly stopped and dropped her to the ground. Cordy's blood chilled when she heard a small happy voice.

"Daddy."

"Catherine no." Everyone yelled but it was too late. She was running towards the man who had her father's face and she threw herself into his arms.

"Well hello there kid." Cordy and Connor were at the top of the steps within seconds.

"Angelus, please. She's just a little girl." Cordy begged as she moved towards him.

"Now now Cordelia, don't come any closer or Catherine here will take a dive over the railing." He had her sitting on the railing. There was no doubt in Cordy's mind that Angelus would drop her and not think twice about it. "Catherine sweetie pie, would you like to fly?"

"Fly." She giggled.

"Angelus, please don't hurt my baby. You can have me. Take me and leave Catherine alone." She sobbed.

"Aren't we in a predicament Cordelia. Hmm you come after me and the little brat takes a flying leap." Angelus looked at Wes and Gunn who had their tranq guns pointed at him. "Your boys here shot me, I drop the little brat and she goes flying. What to do? What to do?"

Cordy closed her eyes, praying that she was about to make the right decision. "Shoot him." She whispered and Angelus just laughed.

"Nice try Cordelia."

"Shoot him." She repeated

"Cordelia are you sure?" Wes asked.

"SHOOT HIM." She screamed and Wes and Gunn both fired hitting Angelus in the chest. As if everything was in slow motion, Angelus lost his grip on Catherine and she went flying over the edge of the rail and he collapsed to the ground. Summoning all of her demon powers she raised her arms and she began to glow. Catherine had stopped falling and was temporarily suspended in mid-air, then she slowly began to float up and into her mother's arms.

"Mommy I fly." Catherine said.

"Oh baby, mommy is so sorry. I am so sorry." Cordy sobbed into her daughters' hair.

"Ow mommy hurt." Catherine said and Cordy realized that she was squeezing Catherine tightly.

"Sorry baby."

Wes and Gunn had joined them on the landing. "Justine, grab the chains. We need to chain him up this time." Wes shouted.

"I'm on it." She shouted as she ran down to the basement.

"Will that hold him this time?" Ciara whispered and Cordy walked over to her.

"It will sweetie. Are you OK?"

"He tried to eat me." She cried

"Ciara, that man is not Angel. He is not the man that loves and adores you. He is evil. You need to remember that."

"Can I take Catherine to play in her room? It will help keep my mind off of all of this."

"Of course you can. Catherine would love that."

After Catherine and Ciara were settled Cordy went back to the basement. Spike was rubbing his head.

"That God damn evil son of a bitch. I 'm going rip his throat out and shove it so far up his ass that it will come out through his mouth."

"Shut the hell up Spike. You're making my headache worse. You are all talk and no action." Angelus growled and Spike rushed towards the cage, but Wes and Gunn held him back.

"Is he chained up?" Cordy asked

"He's not going anywhere." Gunn responded.

"Good." Cordy grabbed the stake out of Justine's hand and stormed into the cage. Before Angelus had time to react she shoved the stake an inch above his heart. "You asshole, how dare you threaten my daughter." She yanked the stake out and plunged it in again, this time it was an inch below his heart. "I swear to God, if you ever so much as look at Catherine again I will not hesitate to turn you into a pile of dust."

"What about your precious Angel?"

"It would break my heart to have to live without Angel, but I couldn't live with myself if I let anything happen to Catherine." She growled and painfully pulled the stake out of his chest twisting it as she pulled. She walked out of the cage and looked at Connor. "You're turn."

Connor stormed into the cage and pummeled Angelus on the face. "I should kill you. I should kill you for trying to kill my wife and sister. You are a cold hearted bastard." Connor continued to punch Angelus until Gunn and Wes pulled him off.

"All right man, I think that he got the point." Gunn said.

"Can I have a turn now?" Spike asked and everyone shouted no and Spike sulked out of the basement mumbling, "Man, I never have any fun."

Cordy had offered to take the first shift watching Angelus. He looked pathetic sitting on the floor, holding his hand to his chest wounds and his face beat all to hell. She didn't feel sorry for him because she knew that he deserved it but her heart was breaking because she knew that when Angel came back to her, he would remember attacking Ciara and threatening Catherine and he would probably never forgive himself even though it wasn't him.

"What the hell do you see in Angel? It's obviously not for the sex because you hardly ever get any from him."

"Yeah well look what happened."

"I just don't see it. All he wants to do is help the helpless. How boring is that?"

"He is an amazing man and father. He loves us more than his own life He has done so much good in the world by helping the helpless. It makes him the wonderful man that he is today."

"No doll, those damn gypsies did that. Do have any idea what it was like for me before I got the stinking soul? People feared my name. It is such a powerful feeling to hold a life in your hands. If I just take a sip, they live but if I am really hungry, they die. Sometimes I wasn't even hungry. I drank because I could, because I'm Angelus."

"You make me sick."

"Are you trying to turn me on Cordelia?"

"In your dreams Angelus."

"But see baby, I've had you. I'm still a part of Angel so when he is banging the hell out of you, remember, I'm there getting my jollies off right along with Angel"

"You do realize that you won't be here for much longer don't you?"

"I have resigned myself to that sad fact but I can still have fun while I'm out can't I?"

"You almost killed Angel's daughter and daughter in law. Why would you risk getting captured again?"

"Because it would have tormented soul boy for eternity and that would have made it all worth it, speaking of which, how is our girl?"

"My daughter is fine."

"That demon shit that you did was pretty cool."

"I did what I had to do to save my daughter's life."

"Oh well, Angel will suffer anyway because I tried to kill them."

"You sadistic son of a bitch."

"My favorite nickname." He said as he grinned his most evil grin.

"Willow is here." Wes said from the top of the stairs.


	55. Chapter 55

**I own none of the characters of Angel **

"I would love to see the fiery redhead. Maybe I can turn her back to the male species." Angelus quipped.

"SHUT UP." Cordy, Connor and Wesley snapped.

"Have her get started as soon as possible." Cordy requested.

"Are you guys coming upstairs?" Wesley asked

"I am." Connor responded. He sent Angelus one more glare and headed up the stairs.

"I'm staying. I want to be here when this asshole is sucked back in to the depths of Angel." Cordy replied. Wesley nodded and headed back up the basement stairs.

"Aww Cordelia, I feel so damn special that you want to wait with me. Gee, I think that I'm going to cry."

"Get over yourself."

"How about a goodbye kiss lover?" She snorted in disgust. "I'm scared, will you come hold my hand?" She glared at him. "Pretty please? I'll be gentle."

"You can't out of here fast enough."

"Oh, poor little soul boy. The guilt that he will feel over the fact that I tried to kill his precious daughter and his worthless son's equally worthless wife." He laughed happily

"Don't talk about Ciara like that. She is a wonderful woman."

"She is weak."

"You are weak. You relish in other people's fear and you think that makes you strong and powerful but it doesn't. It makes you weak because without your strength or your victims fear you would be nothing."

"You do realize that you are talking about your precious Angel, don't you love?"

"Yes I know."

"So what you're saying is that if he were to lose his manly muscles, he would be nothing is that right?" Angelus had an evil sparkle in his eye

"What you don't understand Angelus, is that Angel has a heart."

"You are even more dumb then I thought. Cordelia, Angel is a vampire and vampires don't have hearts."

"I know that dipshit. What I mean is that Angel cares about people and that makes him the man that he is, not the stupid vampire strength."

"Yeah I bet you really appreciated that strength when you riding him like The Lone Ranger rides Tonto."

"You are disgusting."

"It's true, even if you won't admit it I know that it's true. Arghhhhhhhhhh." Cordy smiled as Willow's spell began to work.

'Don't fight it Angelus because it's going to happen."

"You guys are such losers." He clutched his chest as another pain shot through him. "God Damn, I can feel the sickening goodness seeping into my system."

Cordy grinned. "That's right Angelus. Angel's soul is coming back."

"Filthy soul. NO." He screamed

"Bye bye Angelus." Cordy said sweetly.

"You…BITCH." He roared

"That's right, I'm a bitch." After one last agonizing scream Angelus collapsed and stared at Cordy as Angel's soul reentered his body then the form in the cage rolled over on his side, back facing Cordy.

"The spell is complete." Wesley said from the top of the stairs. "Did it work?"

"I think so. I'm going in."

"You shouldn't go in there by yourself Cordelia."

"I can take care of myself." She grabbed a stake off of the floor, unlocked the cage and went over sat down beside him. She gently placed her hand on his back as she felt it shake in silent sobs.

"Angel, baby, it's Ok, you're back." She gently unlocked the chains around his ankles and wrists.

"Cordelia, is he OK?" She rolled him onto his back. His eyes were closed but the tears were still falling.

"Angel open your eyes." He didn't comply with her request. "Dammit Angel, open your eyes and look a me." She yelled and this time he did as he was asked. He slowly opened his eyes, and when Cordy looked deep into his brown eyes and saw the man she loved buried deep behind the pain and guilt.

"He is back Wes." She yelled, "We need a few minutes alone."

"OK." After Wes closed the basement door Cordy pulled Angel into her arms and held him as he sobbed.

"You should have staked me." He snapped. "I don't deserve to live after what I've done."

"Angel, it wasn't you. It was Angelus.

"It makes no difference because I remember what happened. It's just like I did it myself."

"It's only a memory." He roughly pulled away from her and stood up.

"GOD DAMMIT CORDELIA." She knew he was pissed because he called her by her full name. "You just don't get it. Angelus and I are the same person."

"No your not. You have a soul. Angelus doesn't. You feel. He doesn't."

"I ALMOST KILLED MY DAUGHTER." He roared.

"No you didn't. You couldn't do that. You love her Angel. You would never hurt any of us."

"She would of died if you hadn't of saved her Cor."

"She's fine and that's all that matters." She was on her feet and she pulled him into his arms and held him while he sobbed.

"I hate him, I hate him so fucking much." He said once he finally calmed down.

"I know baby I know and I'm sorry. It's all my fault that he came back." Angel stared at her.

"No Cor, it wasn't your fault." She shook her head and this time she was the one crying.

"It was. I should of double checked the clock, I should have watched he clock while we were making love, I should have called the front desk for a wake up call."

"I was there to Cor, I could of done all of those things to, but neither of us did so if there is any blame it should be on both of us.

Cordy reached into her pocket and pulled out his wedding bed. She took his left hand in hers. "I believe that this belongs to you." He smiled weakly as she slid it back on his finger. She then pulled his face to hers and kissed him gently on the lips. "I love you Angel." She murmured in his ear.

"I love you."

"Come on, your friends are waiting to see you." She grabbed his left hand and began to drag him up the stairs. He froze halfway up and if it was possible for a vampire to pale, Cordy would have sworn that's what happened. "Angel, what is it?"

"Ciara." He whispered

"She is fine."

"I said such horrible things about her."

"It wasn't you."

"She….she…will be…afraid…of me."

"She might be and she might not be. In her heart she knows that it wasn't you, the man who has become a father to her. She knows that you would never hurt her.'

"I can't face her or Connor."

"Suck it up Angel and get over it and come on and face your friends and family." Realizing that she had a valid point, he slowly followed her up the stairs,

Everyone but Ciara and Catherine were waiting anxiously in the lobby to see their friend.

"Hey everyone." He said meekly.

"Glad your back man." Gunn said

"Willow, I can't thank you enough for getting me back." Angel said as he gave her an appreciative hug.

"It makes see how far I've come as a witch when I get to recast the first spell I ever did." Everyone laughed.

"I'm sorry for anything that Angelus said or did to any of you except for you Spike. You deserved what you got."

"Fuck off mate."

"Connor, a second please." Connor followed his father into his office and took a seat. "First of all, I'm sorry for what I said and did to you. I'm glad that you came in the cell and beat the shit out of me for what I did. I deserved it. Secondly and more importantly, I am so sorry for what I did to your sister and wife. That was unforgivable and I'll never forgive myself, especially when I see the look of fear in Ciara's eyes that I know will be there."

"I talked to her dad, she understands and she doesn't blame you."

"I hope that's true, but speaking of blame, you had no right to put the blame totally on Cordy. We were both adults and we both knew the rules of the potion. We both could of taken extra precautions to ensure that we met the deadline but we didn't so it is both of our faults."

"I know dad. I was just so scared of what he could do, worried that he would do something horrible to my family, and pissed all to hell that he was back and I took my feelings out on Cordy."

"You owe her an apology Connor. She already has enough guilty feelings about this."

"I know."

"Good, you talk to Cordy and I'm going to go talk to Ciara." Father and son walked at of his office and over to each other's wife.

--

Ciara opened the door. As soon as she saw Angel standing in front of her fear and panic crossed over her beautiful face and she quickly tried to shut the door.

"Ciara honey it's me, dad." Angel said softly.

"How do I know that? Angelus is very misleading and can act just like Angel. I can't trust you." She said with tears in her eyes. Before she could shut the door Catherine caught site of her father standing at the door.

"Daddy." Catherine shouted and ran in between Ciara's legs and out the door before Ciara could stop her. Angel bent down picked up his daughter and hugged her tightly.

"Hiya chipmunk." He whispered

"I wanna fly daddy."

"Not now chipmunk."

"Please daddy. I wanna FLY." Ciara was watching the interaction between them she saw the pain that flashed through his eyes when Catherine mentioned flying. She knew then that she was talking to Angel.

"I said no Catherine." He said sternly and her eyes quickly filled with tears.

"Please fly daddy." She begged

"No chipmunk." She then burst into tears and struggled out of his arms. He placed her down and she ran crying downstairs to her mother leaving Angel and Ciara standing in the hallway.

"Ciara….I…" Angel didn't know what to say.

"I know that you're not him. I saw it in your eyes when you talked to Catherine."

"I'm so sorry for what I almost did to you. I never wanted you to see me like that."

"Connor told me that it wasn't you, that you and Angelus are two different people."

"That's what they all believe."

"You don't?"

"It's hard to explain Ciara, Angelus is a part of me and he always will be."

"I know that you would never hurt me Dad." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you Ciara." He whispered as he hugged her back.

--

Wesley slowly hung up the phone, He wasn't sure how Angel or Cordy would take this news. They had just gotten Angel back and he wasn't sure if he was ready for what they would be asking of him. He slowly walked out of his office and headed downstairs to Angel's office where everyone had gathered.

"Angel, we have a problem." Wes said

"Oh no, is it the spell?" Cordy asked in a scared voice.

"The spell was preformed perfectly," Willow stated matter-of factly.

"She's right. There is nothing wrong with the spell." Wes agreed

"So what is it Wesley?" Angel asked impatiently

"Spike needs to hear this."

"I don't need Spike's help for anything." He mumbled

"Did I hear that there is a problem that the all powerful Angel needs my assistance with?" Spike said as he waltzed into Angel's office.

"Damn vampire hearing." Angel muttered under his breath then he spoke loudly. "I don't need your damn help Spike, so just go away." Spikes eyes flashed with hatred, as did Angel's.

"OK you two, don't start. We need to hear what Wes has to say." Fred instructed.

"Giles just called. Buffy has been captured." Wes said softly.

"Oh hell." Spike said.

Willow clamped her hand over her mouth. "Oh God no." She whispered.

Angel remained silent.

"Well I don't see what that has to with us." Cordy snapped

"Cordelia, Buffy is your friend."

"She was my friend until she decided to steal my man away from me."

"Buffy has been captured by a very evil vampire in Rome. The only two people that can rescue her are sitting here in this room." Wes looked at Spike and Angel.

"What vampire?" Spike asked.

"Carlo." Spike and Angel looked at each other. They were familiar with Carlo. Neither of them have personally met the vampire, but they had heard the stories and the stories they had heard had a familiar ring to them. Carlo had always been in direct competition with Spike and Angel. Whatever they did in their evil days, he did it too, but with an extra bit of torment added to it. He had a knack for capturing slayers and torturing them for years.

"I have to go for her." Spike said.

"Well good luck with that Spike." Cordy said. She was secretly happy that Angel never responded to the request.

"I need to get out of here." Angel said suddenly. He stood up and walked out of his office toward the basement with Cordy following closely behind him.

"Where are you going?" She demanded.

"Out."

"Why?"

"I need to think."

"Oh don't even tell me that you are thinking about going and rescuing your ex-girlfriend."

"Maybe."

"Oh no you don't. You are not leaving me her alone to go after HER." Angel spun around to face her, his eyes were flashing with anger.

"It's not always about you Cordelia." He snapped before walking through the basement door, slamming it shut behind him.

--

Angel spent hours walking through the sewers until the sun went down and then he hit the streets, killing anything that wasn't human and moved. It felt so good to be fighting evil again. The past two months had been pure torture for him to be confined to bed, watching everyone else do the fighting for him. By the time that the sun had started to come up, he had made his decision.

"You're going aren't you?" Cordy had found him in Catherine's room, sitting on the floor next to her bed, running his fingers through his sleeping daughter's hair.

"I am."

"No matter how I feel?" Angel sighed, stood kissed Catherine on the head, walked over to Cordy, gently grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her into their room.

"Yes, I'm going, but feel free to share your feelings with me."

"You arrogant bastard."

"I really do want to know how you feel about it."

"Fine, I don't trust her. What if it some ploy to get you back?"

"If she wanted to get me back she would of come here when I was burnt instead of sending that asshole Spike. Cordy I need to get out of here. Every time I look at you, Catherine, Connor or Ciara the guilt is too overwhelming. I can't deal with that, and I think that if I can get away for awhile I will feel better."

"I don't trust her." Cordy repeated

"Don't you trust me?" Angel to took her left hand in his. "Because if you don't you never should of put this ring on my finger."

"I trust you."

"Then you should know that I belong to you, forever. You have nothing to worry about OK?" She nodded.

"Is he dangerous?"

"Nothing that I can't handle" He lied. He hated lying to her but it would be better if she didn't know how bad it could get.

"Well I better give you something to think about while your gone." Her hands quickly un-buckled his pants, and slid them down his hips to the floor and she got on her knees giving him a wonderful memory to carry him over until he returned from his mission.

"Cordy." He groaned.


	56. Chapter 56

**I own none of the characters of Angel. **

Once Cordy's breathing had become even, and the snoring and drooling began he knew that she was out for the count. She had fallen asleep, tightly clinging to him. He gently untangled himself from her arms and got dressed. He then went into Catherine's room to say goodbye to her.

"Hey chipmunk." He whispered to the sleeping child. "Daddy has to go away for awhile to help an old friend. It will be dangerous but don't tell your mommy because I lied to her because I don't want her to be worried about me and then try to be a hero and come and help. She needs to stay here and take care of you. I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure that I can come back home to you but if something happens and I don't make it, I hope you can remember how much your daddy loves you." He gently kissed her head and walked over to Cordy. He knew that if tried to talk to her, she would wake up so he just kissed her lips and softly whispered "I love you" and he headed to his office.

"Wes, what are you doing here?" Angel had spent the last hour writing letters to Cordy, Catherine, Connor and Ciara.

"I knew that you were leaving so I wanted to make sure you were all right."

"I'm fine."

"I did some research on this Carlo and Angel, he is dangerous. Are you sure that you are physically ready for this?"

"I'm ready, just please don't tell Cordy what you read about him. She will freak out."

"I'll try."

"Look Wes, I just wrote some letters. Can you keep them in the safe in your office and give them out only if something happens to me and I don't come home." Wes just stared at his normally confident friend who actually looked scared.

"You're worried."

"I am and I want to make sure that if I don't make it, they know how I feel about them."

"They do know Angel."

"Can you do this for me please Wes?"

"Of course I will Angel."

"Are you ready you stupid ponce?" Spike asked as he walked into Angel's office.

"Look Spike, I really don't need your help." Angel snapped.

"There is no way in hell that I'm going to let you go in and be all hero like and save Buffy. I don't need you."

"You can't find your way out of a square box without help you idiot."

"You two are going to have to put your differences aside in order to be able to successfully rescue Buffy."

"I can do it by myself." Angel and Spike said at the same time and then glared at each other.

"See you're already working together." Wes said and they turned their glare on him.

"Let's go Spike." Angel grumbled and they left the hotel in the pre-dawn hours to catch a plane with tinted windows.

--

"Any word on Angel?" Cordy asked as came into the office. He had been gone for two weeks and none of them had heard anything.

"I spoke with Giles and there has been no changes since yesterday. Buffy still had not been rescued and Angel and Spike had not made another rescue attempt for three days." Wes explained.

"God Dammit, I hate this. It shouldn't have taken this long." Wes didn't respond. "He said that he wasn't dangerous, that he could handle it. Is this psycho vamp in a fortress?" Again Wes didn't respond and Cordy's eyes grew wide. "That son of a bitch. He lied to me." She walked over and staring pulling Wesley's books off of his shelf. She was going to find out about Carlo.

"Cordelia, please not my books." Wesley begged

"Since my husband lied to me then I will find out for myself what this Carlo is all about."

"He just didn't want you to worry about him." Before Cordy could tell Wesley that she is his wife and has every right to worry about him, Gunn burst through the door.

"English, we've located the Gorssa Demon. He is across town and he is hungry." Gunn blurted out.

"OK, is everyone ready?"

"Connor and Justine are waiting at the truck."

"I'll go." Cordy said.

"No we've got it. Why don't you stay here and handle things." Cordy wasn't in the mood to argue so she agreed to stay behind and the alone time would give her more time to check out Wesley's books to learn more about Carlo.

"CORDY." She jumped out of her chair. She was intently reading about Carlo. She had found out that he was one of the most vicious vampires of all time with the exception of Angel, Spike and Darla. Once Angel and Spike stopped fighting evil and Darla staked herself, Carlo became the most vicious evil vampire in the twenty-first century and her Angel was fighting them. She looked up and saw Fred standing in the doorway, her face contorted with pain.

"Oh my God Fred, what happened?"

"The baby….he's coming….Wesley….not…answering his….phone."

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No…need…husband." Fred gasped.

"Come on we'll call keep trying him on the way." She wrapped her arm around Fred and led her to the lobby. "Ciara, can you stay here, watch Catherine. Fred's in labor and I'm taking her to the hospital." Ciara nodded. "Keep trying to get a hold of Wesley and let him know what is going on."

"Good luck Fred." Ciara yelled as they went out the door. An hour later Fred and Cordy were in the delivery room and Fred was fully dilated, ready to start pushing.

"Cordy, I can't…I need Wesley." Fred sobbed. Cordy had changed into scrubs and was prepared to help her best friend through this until Wes showed up.

"Yes you can. Giving birth is a piece of cake." Fred laughed through her tears. "At least you had time for an epidural."

"OK Fred, it's time to start pushing. Are you ready?" The doctor asked.

"No, my husband isn't here yet."

"Sweetie, we can't wait any longer. Your son needs to be born now." Fred nodded and with Cordy's help, thirty minutes later Fred pushed out a healthy baby boy.

"Fred, he is beautiful." Cordy said as she looked at the baby in Fred's arm.

"He is. He is just perfect. I think he looks like his father."

"Poor kid." Cordy joked and both girls giggled. "What's his name?"

"Matthew David."

"Hello Matthew. I'm your Aunt Cordy and I'm going to spoil you rotten. You have a wonderful cousin named Catherine. You two will have so much fun together."

Fred had just gotten cleaned up and moved to a private room when Wesley showed up.

"Oh, honey, I am so sorry. The demon ate my cell phone and he was much harder to kill then we had anticipated. When we got back to the hotel and Ciara told me the news, I tried to rush right over but I was covered in it's blue slime and blood, which caused me to spell quite horrible so Gunn insisted that I shower before I came over." The nurse that was adjusting Fred's IV line looked at Wesley like he had grown two heads.

"I'm glad that you showered because if you hadn't I wouldn't let you hold your son. Come here and say hello to Matthew." Fred said as she put their son in his father's arms.

"Hello son. I'm your father." Wes whispered as the tears fell onto the blue blanket. Cordy took that moment to sneak out and let the new family get acquainted. She had a sudden urge to hug her baby girl.

--

"God Dammit. We need to get back there and take that son of a bitch out NOW." Spike yelled.

"Yeah Spike, just rush right in there like we did the first time and get our asses kicked again. Yeah, that sounds real fucking smart." Angel snapped. He was tired, hurt and just wanted to go home.

"We have to save her. Did you see what he was doing to her?" Spike said softly.

"Of course I saw. I have two eyes same as you do." Every time that he closed his eyes, he saw Buffy, chained to a wall, beat within an inch of her life, and Carlo was drinking just enough of her blood to keep her alive, but barely.

"I don't know if I can wait until the sun goes down to go after her."

"Then be my guest and go out into the sun. Let's see how far you can get."

"Bite me Angel."

"Oh that's real mature Spike." Spike stuck his middle finger up at Angel who rolled his eyes and began to pace.

"We need the blue prints of that hell hole. There has got to be some sort of sewer access. Any vampire with brains has sewer access. If we can find that access then we can surprise him during the day, when he won't expect us." Angel said, frustrated with himself that he didn't think of it sooner, but even he had to admit that his mind was back in LA with his family.

Spike quickly got on the phone and an hour later they had the blueprints in their hands and by nightfall that had their plan set in motion. They decided to get a good night's sleep and proceed first thing in the morning. Before going to sleep, Angel called home.

"Hey Cor."

"Angel, you sorry son of a bitch. You lying asshole. When you get home I'm going to kick your pale ass into next week."

"You found out about Carlo didn't you?"

"Hell yes I found out. I can read you know and Wesley's book had a lot of interesting information about that asshole."

"Cor, I'm sorry. I just didn't want to worry you."

"I'm your wife, It's my job to worry."

"I know. It was stupid of me. You're right. I'm sorry."

"Of course I'm right. I'm Cordelia. So have you saved her yet?"

"We are going back in tomorrow."

"Be careful."

"I will." Cordy then told him about Matthew's birth and all of the recent demons that they had killed.

"Come home soon please." She whispered.

"I'll try. Kiss Catherine for me."

"I will. I love and miss you."

"I love and miss you too."

At dawn the next day Spike and Angel put their plan Rescue Buffy into motion.

"Do you think that he is sleeping?" Spike asked.

"Do I look like I know what his sleeping patterns are?"

"Jesus, what crawled up your ass and died?"

"You did."

"My God you are as moody as a woman."

"Look Spikey, I'm not here to be your friend. I am here to get a job done and I could do it much better if you would shut the hell up for a change." Angel whispered through clenched teeth.

"Touchy, Touchy." Spike muttered under his breath. If Angel didn't need Spikes help, he would have staked him right there.

"This is the door." Angel said

"How do you know it's the right one?" Spike knew that Angel was in a pissy mood and he quite enjoyed pushing all of his buttons.

"I just do. Now are you ready or would you like to continue to stand out here and question me."

"I'm ready."

"On three. One. Two. Three." They both easily lifted their leg and kicked the door down. They were surrounded by tons of vamps, but they were ready for them and took them out easily. They were searching all of the rooms for Buffy when they heard her screams. They ran towards the sound and kicked that door down. Carlo spun around and faced them.

"So you found my sewer access did you know?" He sneered. Angel and Spike immediately vamped.

"Release her." Spike said.

"No, but you can if you can get through me." Carlo vamped.

"You think that you are so original by torturing you victims?" Angel asked

"You're not. We invented and perfected that mate. Me and him." Spike said before Carlo could answer. The three of them stood there, Carlo glaring at Angel and Spike and Angel and Spike glared back at him then in the blink of an eye, Spike and Angel were attacking Carlo.

Carlo was a tough opponent. He was every bit as strong as Angel and Spike and he held his own against them. There were quite a few times that Angel and Spike were thrown across the room or against a wall but they recovered quickly. After an hour of intense fighting, Angel finally was in a position to stake Carlo.

"Spike, get Buffy." Spike didn't have to be asked twice. He ran over to the wall were Buffy was chained up. When Spike roughly yanked one of the chains off of the wall she screamed in agony. When Angel heard Buffy's scream, he sent the stake right through his cold dead heart. Carlo was no more. He quickly made his way over to Spike and Buffy.

"What are you a dumbass? You need to be gentle. Her wrists and ankles are raw." Angel shouted

"Who are you calling a dumbass? I just saved your ass."

"Bullshit. I saved you." They both were picking the locks on the chains.

"Are you serious mate? He almost had a stake in your heart and I pulled him off of you."

"And how many times did I pull him away from you? Actually how many times did I pick you up off of your sorry ass? It happened so many times. I lost count."

"Will you two please shut up?" Buffy whispered hoarsely.

"Buffy are you OK?" Spike asked

"I've been better."

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Angel said and he and Spike both bent down to pick her up.

"I've got it." Spike said

"No, I've got her."

"I said I'll get her."

"No, I'll do it."

"What are you guys, two? I'll walk."

"Buffy, you can't walk. You've lost a lot of blood." Angel said but Buffy choose not to listen and began to walk away but she collapsed in Angel's arm after one step.

"Always have to be the hero don't you mate?"

"You're finally getting it Spikey." Buffy looked into Angel's eyes,

"I love you Angel." She whispered and fell unconscious.


	57. Chapter 57

**I do not own Angel or any of the characters.**

If Angel hadn't of been holding Buffy in his arms Spike would of staked that woman-stealing vampire when Buffy said that she loved him. So instead, he just sent him the most intimidating glare that he could muster, which didn't phase Angel one bit.

"Call Giles, and tell him to send a car up here." Angel ordered.

"I am not your servant. Do it your damn self." Spike grumbled

"My hands are a little full right now dumbass." Grumbling Spike used his cell to call Giles and update him on their status.

"A car will be here in five." So for five minutes, Angel and Spike stood at the entrance of the fortress and waited in silence for their ride to arrive. Spike was thinking of all of the ways he would like to torture Angel for stealing his woman and Angel was thinking of what Buffy had said to him. He had hoped that she had gotten over him but obviously she hadn't and he had no idea how to handle it.

The ride back to their safe house was a quiet one. The only voice that was speaking was that of Giles, who was voicing his concerns over Buffy's condition. When they arrived at the safe house Angel carried Buffy in and laid her down and the medical staff that Giles had hired got right to work. They immediately started an IV so she could get some much-needed blood. While she was still unconscious they began to repair her stab wounds.

"Come on Angel, we need to take care of your wounds." Giles said

"I'm fine."

"No you're injured and you need medical attention."

"I need to call Cordy."

"We have already called Wesley and updated them."

"Then when can I go home?"

"The plane won't be available for two more days, so sit down and let us take care of you." Giles ordered and Angel grudgingly followed him into another room.

"You son of a bitch." Spike roared and with a swift kick sent Angel flying across the room. Spike had been waiting for Angel to come in for treatment. Angel quickly jumped to his feet and punched Spike in the face sending him flying across the room.

"Spike. Angel. Enough." Giles yelled but the vampires ignored him.

"What is your problem Spike?" Angel roared as they proceeded to punch each other.

"You are my damned problem. You just can't let me have anything can you?"

"Is this about Buffy?" Spike answered Angel by throwing him across the room.

"Yes it's about Buffy. You already have a woman. Why the hell do you have to have the one that I love?"

"For once in your life asswipe you are right. I already have Cordelia, who I love. I don't want Buffy. It's all her."

"It's not fair."

"What are you a damn child? It's not fair." Angel mocked and Spike leapt at Angel. "Ow. Did you just bite me?"

"Sorry mate, it seemed like the right thing to do." They had finally stopped fighting.

"Spike, I'm in love with Cordelia. What Buffy and I had was a long time ago. There is no chance of anything between us anymore."

"Well maybe you should tell her that." Spike spat.

"Maybe I will." Angel whispered.

--

Cordy was sitting in the lobby feeding baby Matthew while his parents were taking a nap because he kept them up most of the night. After he finished his bottle and was burped he began to fuss so Cordy placed his binky in his mouth and began to hum "Hush Little Baby" a song that she used to hum to Catherine. That's the scene that Lorne walked, actually ran into when he heard the humming going on.

"Cordy, sweetums. You look good holding that little precious pumpkin."

"Don't get me wrong, Catherine is so much fun, but I miss holding a baby."

"Oh it won't be much longer now." He murmured under his breath.

"I didn't hear you Lorne." She may kill him but he was going to jump right in.

"I said it won't be much longer now." She looked at him with wide eyes.

"I don't understand." She understood very well what he was saying. She just needed to hear it again.

"You were humming when I walked in her princess and I picked up the bun in the oven vibe."

"Again? How can that be? Why? OH shit. I have to go." She handed Matthew to Lorne. "I need a test. Catherine is taking her nap. I'll be back before she wakes up. He just finished eating so he should be fine." She grabbed her purse and car keys from Angel's desk and ran out of the lobby with Lorne smiling because he knew what the result would be.

Twenty minutes later, Cordy was sitting in the edge of the bathtub staring at the two pinks lines on the sick that she was holding. She was pregnant again.

"What are you thinking?" She said aloud at the ceiling talking to The Powers That Be. She knew that she was pregnant because of PTB. Vampires can't have children and she was still taking Birth Control. "I don't understand. Things are hard enough for us with one child. Why another one? I have put Catherine's life at risk so many times already why risk another child?" She gave up talking to them because she knew that she wouldn't get answer until they were ready to answer her.

_Dammit, I should be happy. _She thought _I'm going to have Angel's child again. I am so conflicted. I am happy but at the same time I am scared. I wish that Angel were here. He would talk me back down. _Her cell phone ringing pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Hello?"

"Its me."

"Angel, when are you coming home?"

"Are you OK?" Her voice sounded upset.

"I just need you home with me now." She held back a sob. Damn pregnancy hormones already.

"I'll be home in two days. What's wrong?"

"Nothing"

"Don't lie to be Cordelia."

"We'll talk when you get home."

"Cor…"

"I'm not in any danger. I'm fine. Look Catherine is waking up from her nap. I've got to go."

"Cordelia."

"I'm fine. I love you and I'll see you soon."

"Love you." He said softly and she hung up the phone biting back her tears. She new knew that he was worried about her, but she refused to tell him that she was pregnant over the phone. Pulling herself together, she went to go get Catherine out of bed.

--

"Angel, Buffy is awake and she is asking for you." Willow said. Since she was with them when they received the call about Buffy, she came with them.

"Thanks Will." He slowly walked into the room were Buffy was. "Hey." He whispered as he pulled a chair up to her bed. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey yourself." She reached over and took his hand. "Thank you for rescuing me." She whispered hoarsely

"Spike helped."

"I know he did."

"Look Buffy I don't if you remember what you said…"

"I said that I love you.'

"Yeah…uh….you did…"

"What is this?" She noticed his ring. "Is it a…?" She couldn't make herself say the word.

"Its my wedding ring"

"Cordelia has the other one I'm assuming?"

"She does."

"You can't be married. You're a vampire. Marriage is for humans."

"Technically you are right, so legally we are not married but we are in our hearts."

"That's crap. What about me Angel? You left Cordelia and came all the way here to rescue me. What does that say about your marriage?"

"You were once someone very important to me so of course I could come and help you. That's what I do now."

"But I still love you Angel."

"There is a part of me that will always love you, but like a friend Buffy. I am in love with Cordelia. My life is in LA with her and my children. She has my heart. She is my soul. I can't imagine being without her. She has made me happier then I ever thought possible."

"But I'm the only one that you could achieve a moment of perfect happiness with, so obviously you can't love her."

"You have obviously been out of the loop for awhile because Cordy and I made love and Angelus came back." Buffy was silent for a moment. She released his hand.

"You really do love her don't you?" He nodded. "Is she good to you?"

"She is. She doesn't put up with anything. After you're last visit, she broke up with me and it took her about a year before she took me back."

"Sorry about that."

"It's in the past. I would like to one day be friends again."

"I would like that."

"So as a friend I'm telling you that you should give Spike another chance. I don't know why you two spilt in the first place, and I personally hate him but he does love you. Whenever he talks about you, I am reminded of how I am when I talk about Cordy."

"Really?" He nodded and kissed her cheek.

"Goodbye Buffy. I wish you happiness." He walked out of the room and Spike was standing in the hall. The vampires nodded at each other and Spike walked into Buffy's room.

--

Cordy was pacing around the lobby. Angel was due back any minute and she was getting more and more anxious with every passing minute. She had Lorne swear not to tell anyone about her pregnancy so she was basically carrying it alone. She was crying easily and her temper was short. She found herself snapping at everyone around her, even Catherine. Her friends thought that it was because she missed Angel and she chose to let them believe it.

"Cordelia, would you please stop pacing. You're giving me a headache." Wesley complained

"I'm sorry." She said as she flopped into Angel's desk chair. "Is there any research that I can help you with?"

"See what you can find out about the Rysin Demon?" She nodded and attempted to start the research, but she didn't get anywhere and Wesley knew that and that's why he had her research a demon that didn't exist.

_What will Angel say? _Her thoughts were taking over again. _Will he be mad? What about he doesn't want the child? What if he doesn't think that it's his? What if he thinks that I cheated on him? What if he hates me? What if…" _

"Cordy." She looked up at the sound of her name being called and she saw that he was home. She flew out of his chair and ran into the lobby and threw herself into his arms and he lifted her off of the ground.

"You're home." She said as their lips crashed into each other. They kissed for as long as they could before Cordy needed to breathe. He reluctantly put her back on the floor and the next thing he knew her hand connected with his cheek in a hard slap. "Don't ever lie to me again."

"Never" He said as he rubbed his sore cheek.

"Daddy." Catherine yelled.

"Catherine." He picked her up and began covering her head and face. "I have missed you so much chipmunk." While still holding Catherine in his arms, everyone came over to welcome him home. The lunch that they had ordered showed up then and they all sat around, ate and listened to Angel's story of how Carlo was defeated.

Cordy desperately wanted to talk to Angel and tell him about the pregnancy and she could tell that he wanted to talk with her too but she sat back while Angel caught up with his friends, children and met the newest member of the company. Angel looked very comfortable holding Matthew and that helped ease her nerves a bit.

"Someone is ready for her nap." Cordy said an hour later when she noticed Catherine yawning. "Angel, would you care to help?" He quickly handed Matthew back to his mother and picked up Catherine.

"Come on chipmunk, let's go take a nap." She laid her head on his shoulder as they walked to her room. He was only gone for three weeks but he really missed this.

"Look what I got in the mail while you were gone." He took the paper out of her hand and grinned when he saw it.

"I am officially Cordelia Suzanne Angel." He dropped the paper on the floor and pulled her onto the bed with him and kissed her passionately.

"Cordy Angel. I like it." He whispered when the broke apart. She laid her head on his chest and wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"I like it too." She linked her hand with his.

"I think that I finally settled things with Buffy. She tried to tell me that she loved me but I told her that I love and will only love one woman for the rest of my life. I think that she finally got the picture." He had decided to be up front with Cordy about what had transpired between him and Buffy.

"Glad to hear that."

"So what's going on Cor?" She pulled herself out of his arms and began to pace. "Cor, what is it babe?"

"I found something out while you were gone." She had tears in her eyes. Now he was worried.

"What did you find out?"

"I…I…" She burst into tears. Angel panicked.

"Are you sick? Are you dying?" He asked tearfully

"No nothing like that."

"Then tell me please."

"I'm pregnant." She whispered softly.

"Huh?"

"I'm pregnant."

"But how?"

"Have you forgotten already?"

"No…I just…did Nathan tell you?"

"I haven't heard from the powers at all. I was humming to Matthew and Lorne got the baby vibe." Angel was silent for a minute then a huge smile came across his face. "You're OK with this?"

"I am better than OK. This is wonderful." He looked in her eyes and saw a bit of uncertainty there. "Cor, did you think that this wouldn't be OK with me?"

"I thought that you would be angry or think that I was cheating on you."

"I know that you would never cheat on me and I could never be angry. It's our child, something that we created because we love each other. I thought that when we had Catherine, my life was finally complete, but now I know that I was wrong. I have a beautiful wife and another child on the way. I am so happy."

"Not perfectly happy though right?"

"Am I making love to you right now?"

"No."

"Then I'm not perfectly happy, but I'm damn close." He pulled her into his arms. "Thank you for giving me a family."

"I couldn't have done it without you, you big lunkhead." He placed his hand on her still flat belly.

"I love Cordelia Angel."

"I love you Angel."

"Come on, let's tell everyone." Gabbing her hand, they ran out of their room laughing anxious share their happy news with their family.


	58. Chapter 58

**I own none of the characters of Angel. **

**I have taken this chapter from season 5 Angel but of course putting my own spin on it. Hope you enjoy.**

_**FIVE YEARS LATER….**_

"You cannot be serious." Cordy shouted at Angel

"I am." Angel replied calmly.

"Have you lost your damn mind?"

"I have done a lot of thinking about this and I think that it would be best for everyone."

"How can working for Evil Incorporated be best? Have you forgotten that they are EVIL?"

"That may be true"

"So why in the hell do you want to go work for them?"

"Let's just say that it's a reward."

"There is no doubt in my mind, you have lost yours."

"What is going on?" Wesley asked. Cordelia's shouting had brought everyone to the doorway to find out what was happening.

"Why don't you ask our dumb fearless leader?" Cordy snapped.

"Dad?" Connor asked.

"Wolfram and Hart finally surrendered." A cheer went up around the office.

"So what's the problem then?" Gunn asked.

"They have offered Angel the position of CEO." The gang was silent.

"You're considering it?" Fred whispered

"I am."

"Why?" Lorne simply asked.

"Thank you Lorne. See, I'm not the only one who thinks that you have lost your marbles." Cordy said.

"They have resources that we don't. We can't do this alone anymore. All of our children have been put at risk and we need to think about them. We can't protect them on our own anymore."

"Smooth. Real smooth Angel with the children card." Cordy muttered but Angel ignored her and continued on.

"The demon and vamp fighting is getting worse. We have had way too many almost deaths among us. If we take over Wolfram and Hart we will have more people fighting with us. We will actually have people who just fight. Think of all the good that we can accomplish. They have offered us a tour of the facility tomorrow. I can't force any of you to come but I want to encourage it."

"What about the senior partners?" Wesley asked.

"They will leave us alone."

"This doesn't make any sense. Why would an evil law firm want to give us the keys to the castle?" Gunn asked

"When we stopped the beast we actually stopped an apocalypse that they didn't want or plan so we basically saved their asses and as a reward, they are giving us Wolfram & Hart."

"This is unbelievable." Ciara said

"Angel you can go and work with the big bad if you want but you'll be doing it without me or your children." Cordy said as she stormed out of his office.

"Look I'll I'm asking is that you think about it. They are sending a limo for us in the morning. If you want to go be downstairs before the sun comes up, if not then that's fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go calm my wife down." Angel left them all in deep thought as he headed up to his room.

"Cordy, is it safe to enter?" He asked from the outside of the door. She threw it open, eyes blazing.

"Enter at your own risk." He walked in and shut the door behind him. "Are we clear?" She asked.

"No one followed me." She threw her arms around him.

"And the Oscar goes to me." She said happily. "I knew that I should have pursued acting."

"You were amazing. If I didn't know what you were doing, I would have been convinced."

"I hate lying to them." She said as she went and sat on their bed.

"We have to. If we are going to pull this off no one but you and I can know what is really happening."

A few months ago Cordy received a vision that they had kept between themselves. The Powers sent her a vision of the future. They showed her all of the key players in an upcoming apocalypse and they made it possible to get inside of Wolfram & Hart by sending the beast that they had destroyed. The Powers knew that if Angel Inc. killed the beast, Wolfram & Hart would open their doors to them. The plan was to get in and have Angel chum up and be inducted into the Circle of the Black Thorn. He then would have the access to kill them. The only downfall was that The Circle had to believe that Angel's family and friends didn't trust him anymore. Cordy and Angel planted the first seed today.

"What if they never forgive us?"

"They will when we destroy The Circle and The Senior Partners. How is that research going?"

"It coming along, slowly. I could really use Wesley's help. I am struggling with the translation."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, I am using an outside source to help me translate. Just finding the time to get away is making it take longer."

"I'm sorry to put you through this."

"We are doing what needs to be done."

"Have I told you lately how amazing you are?"

"Not lately."

"You are amazing Cordelia Angel."

"I know."

"You must be rewarded for you Oscar nominated performance today." He mumbled as he kissed her neck.

"What did you have in mind?"

"How much time do we have until the kids are done at school?"

"A couple of hours."

"Well I suggest that we make the most of it." He gently pushed her down on the bed and began to kiss her gently. They had not made love since she had become pregnant with their son Chase and they really wanted to but knew that they couldn't so they did the next best thing. She raised her arms above her head and he slipped off her shirt. He groaned in delight when he saw that her bra clasped in the front and he quickly unhooked it, setting her breasts free. He was amazed that after breast feeding two children her breasts hadn't changed a bit. He placed his mouth over the hard nipple that was waiting for him. Cordy moaned in delight.

"So beautiful." He murmured. He let his lips travel down her stomach, his tongue darting in and out of her belly button. Thankfully she was wearing a skirt so he pushed it up, over her thighs. He felt the heat coming from her center. He slipped two fingers under her panties and inside of her.

"Angel." She softly moaned.

"You like that?"

"Hmmm I like." She mumbled through closed eyes.

While his fingers continued to work their magic, he placed his mouth back on her breasts, giving them the much-needed attention that they required. He alternated between, kissing, sucking and biting them. Within minutes, Cordy's body spasmed in delight.

"Oh dear God." She whispered

"It's not over yet baby." In one swift movement, he lifted her hips off of the bed and pulled her panties off and tossed them across the room. He spread her legs apart and his mouth joined her center. He inserted his fingers inside of her again and his mouth began to suck on her clitoris. She pushed his face into her. She needed to feel him and he knew it. He soon replaced his fingers with his mouth and tongue. After all of their years together, he knew exactly how to make her squirm. His tongue found her G-spot and she practically jumped off of the bed. To help keep herself steady, she wrapped her legs around his neck, which pushed him further into her.

"God Dammit." She groaned

He always managed to drag their oral sex out for hours. He would bring to the brink of ecstasy then pull away from her planting his lips on other parts of her body until she relaxed and then he would start all over again.

"Angel…the kids…home…soon." She said as she glanced at the clock. Since Angelus returned Cordy has been more conscious of the time during their intimate moments, which has come in handy with two young children. Angel began to swirl his tongue inside of her. Her legs tightened around his neck. "Oh…God…Angel." She moaned deeply as he brought her to an intense orgasm.

"You are so good to me." She said as he laid his head on her stomach and she ran her hands through his dark hair.

"You deserve it." They laid there for a few more minutes, just enjoying the peace and quiet that they rarely got anymore. Reluctantly, Cordy pulled herself away from Angel.

"I need a shower."

"I'll join you."

"No time. The kids will be home any minute. You can make the bed." She winked as she walked into the bathroom for a much needed shower.

--

"Mommy, look what I made in art class today." Catherine shouted when Cordy walked into the lobby. She handed her mother her painting of a giant sun.

"It's beautiful honey."

"I made it for daddy cause he can't go outside."

"Lemme see." Chase yelled as he ran over and grabbed the picture out of his mother's hands, which caused it rip in half. Catherine immediately started crying.

"CHASE" Catherine yelled

"Catherine, mommy can fix it."

"No you can't. I hate you Chase." She yelled and pushed him.

"Oh my God Chase." Cordy yelled. When Catherine pushed him, he went flying across the room and it didn't look like she used any strength. Using his lighting fast vampire speed Angel easily caught him.

"Catherine pushed me." Chase complained.

"Did you just see that?" Cordy asked the lobby and everyone mumbled yes.

"Catherine, come over here." Angel said

"I'm sorry daddy."

"Tell Chase that you're sorry." She glared at her brother but did as she was asked. "Now, do you want to play a game?"

"I love games."

"OK, hit daddy right here." He pointed to his jaw. "As hard as you can."

"You and mommy said never hit."

"It's OK to hit daddy if he says that you can." Cordy explained. Catherine just stood there.

"Go ahead chipmunk, hit me." Angel encouraged. Finally after much internal debate, Catherine hit Angel in the face, causing him to jerk back. "Good girl. Now sport it's your turn to hit daddy." Chase didn't need to be asked twice, he pulled back and hit his father.

"Can I do it again?" Chase asked

"NO." Cordy and Angel said together.

"Go play with Matthew and don't hit or push." The kids ran off without acknowledging their father. "Catherine, Chase, did you hear me?" They froze when they heard Angel's stern voice.

"Yes daddy." They both replied.

"What did I say?"

"No hitting." Chase said

"And?"

"No pushing." Catherine responded.

"OK, go play."

"What the hell was that?" Connor asked once the kids were out of earshot.

"Well it looks like they have inherited their father's vampire strength." Wesley said.

"I always assumed that Connor was as strong as he was because his mother and I were both vampires. I didn't think that it would affect Catherine and Chase. Connor, how old were you when you realized your strength?"

"I never remember not being strong."

"Maybe Catherine and Chase inherited their strength because of you and because Cordelia is half demon." Wesley surmised.

"I wonder if they got any demon in them." Fred wondered and everyone looked at Cordy.

"What? You want me to go ask my children if they can glow and float?"

"Good point." Gunn said.

"So how strong are they?" Lorne asked.

"Well obviously not as strong as Connor or I. When Catherine hit me, it hurt and Chase isn't as strong but his stung a bit."

"And I'm sure within time; they will be as strong as Connor." Wesley said

"So what the hell do we do? Should I lock them in a padded room away from everyone?"

"That won't be necessary. With the proper training they can both learn when it's appropriate to use force."

"I don't want them hurting any of the other kids." Cordy said.

"They won't if you guys work with them."

"Well let's get started." Angel said as he took Cordy's hand and led her to the playroom. Before interrupting, they stood at the door and watched all of the children playing together. Catherine was the oldest followed by Matthew who was five. Next came Chase who was almost five, then Patrick who was four and was Connor and Ciara's son. Around the same age was James, Wes and Fred's second child and finally there was Ali, who was Gunn and Justine's daughter who was two. They all really were one big family and the kids all played so well together.

"Catherine, Chase come here." Cordy said.

"But mommy." Catherine whined.

"NOW." At the sound of their mother's stern voice, both dark haired children, dropped their toys and came running. It was obvious to any one that looked at them that they were siblings. In fact, some people had thought that they were twins. Both children had their parent's dark hair and eyes. Catherine's hair hung past her shoulders in soft waves and Chase always made sure that his hair was cut the same as his father's who was his hero. He even insisted on using the same gel that Angel used in his hair.

"Mommy and I have something very important to talk to you about. You guys are very special children who have a very special mommy and daddy. You know that daddy is very very strong right?"

"You're a vampire." Catherine filled in.

"That's right chipmunk."

"Am I a vampire too?" Chase asked

"No sport you're not."

"Bummer." Cordy giggled.

"Anyway because Daddy is very strong you guys are strong to." Their eyes widened. "You guys are so strong that if would hit or push one of your cousins, you could hurt them real bad."

"I don't want to hurt no one."

"We know you don't sweetie so that's why you need to listen very carefully. Daddy and I do not want you to hit or push anyone. Not your aunts or uncles, your cousins or your friends at school. Do you both understand me?"

"Yes mommy." They said together.

"Daddy is going to help you get stronger so can hit him but only when he tells you to."

"Really?" Chase asked and Cordy nodded. Her son was just like his father. Loved violence.

"Now there may be times when mommy and I will want you to hit someone, but that's only when someone is trying to hurt or take you away from us OK?" Angel instructed.

"Yes daddy."

"OK, you guys can go play until dinner." They both happily ran back into the playroom.

"This could be a good thing." Cordy said to Angel.

"I was thinking the same thing. If for some reason that you or I aren't around to protect them, they will be able to defend themselves."

"They may need that for our next adventure." She whispered

"Don't think like that."

"I can't help it. I'm scared."

"I know you are. We will get through this together."

"Are we doing the right thing?"

"We are going to save the world Cor. What could be wrong about that?"

"Our loved ones could die in the process."

"You know that I will do everything that I can to protect them."

"Will it be enough?"

"I hope so." He pulled her into his chest as she sobbed.


	59. Chapter 59

**I own none of the characters of Angel.**

"Cordelia, may we have a minute?" Wesley said from the doorway of her office.

Cordelia looked up and saw all of her friends standing there. She motioned them in. They had been at Wolfram and Hart for six months and until recently they all seemed to be happy, which was going according to Angel and Cordy's plan. Everyone had their own departments that they were running. Wesley and Cordelia were heading up the demon research department, which had really given her the extra help that she needed to complete their plan. Fred was head of the science department, Gunn had a microchip put in is brain so he was a lawyer, Lorne was the head of the entrainment department, Connor and Justine trained the fighters and Ciara was in charge of the day care center, which she absolutely loved.

"What's gong on?" She asked although she knew what the problem was.

"We are concerned about Angel." Wesley began.

"What do you mean?"

"My father is becoming an ass." Connor blurted.

"Excuse me?"

"He has been taking on clients that are less then ideal." Gunn said.

"I know that this would happen. I told all of you, I told that big lunkhead that this would happen but did anyone listen to me? No they didn't."

"Could you stop tooting your own horn cupcake and listen to us?" Lorne asked.

"Sorry, go on."

"Right now, he is in his office allowing a woman to sign her unborn child over to a group of demons that will sacrifice him on his thirteenth birthday" Fred said Cordy's eyes grew wide in mock surprise.

"And yesterday he agreed to represent a senator who wants to destroy a man's personal and political life by forging documents stating that he is a sexual predator." Gunn added.

"This is not why we came to Wolfram and Hart." Wesley said softly

"You're damn right Wesley and I'm ending this right now." Cordy stormed out of her office and headed to Angel's office with their friends following behind her to see how this played out. They knew that if he would listen to anybody, he would listen to his wife. Not even bothering to knock she stormed right into his office.

"Cordelia, we are in a meeting." Angel said

"That's why I'm here."

"This meeting has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me."

"Gentleman, Amanda, excuse me for one minute." He grabbed her arm and drug her out of his office. "What the hell was that?" He yelled when they got out into the hall.

"I should ask you the same thing. What are you thinking representing those monsters that want to kill an innocent child?"

"It's what we do."

"No it's not what WE do you asswipe. It's what YOU are doing."

"It's no big deal."

"NO BIG DEAL." She screamed. "It's a very big deal. You used to fight and kill demons like this and now you are helping them. And what about the senator? How can you willingly destroy a man's life, a man who has done nothing to you? Are you doing this for the good of a client? What about the good of your soul?"

"Cordelia, you are over reacting."

"No I think that I am reacting just fine. Would you be fine if someone destroyed Wesley's life with false accusations? Would you be fine if I decided to give Catherine or Chase to a group of demons so they could be sacrificed?"

"That's different."

"No it's not different Angel. What is happening to you? Where is our champion?"

"I'm still a champion, I'm just fighting for different things."

"Evil things." She spat as tears fell from her eyes, an impressive touch she thought.

"Cordy, can we finish this conversation later."

"As long as you walk in there and kill those demons."

"Not happening."

"Don't do it."

"I'm sorry that you don't agree."

"Angel, I swear if you walk back in there and there are no dead bodies within seconds I am taking our children and walking out of this evil place and you will never see them again."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me. I refuse to let my children be raised in this evil environment with a father who is supporting it."

"Cordy please don't."

"You know what you have to do." He stared at her for a few seconds and then returned to his office. Cordy stood outside of his door, acting like she was waiting for him to have a change of heart she knew wouldn't happen. After a few minutes the office door opened and the group of very undead demons walked out surrounding their sacrifice's mother with Angel following behind them.

"Thank you for your assistance Angel." The demon said and Angel shook his hand.

"My pleasure. When the baby is born call us and we will make sure that the transaction goes smoothly." Angel said smiling at the demon. After a few more casual pleasantries they were gone.

"I don't even know who you are anymore." Cordy spat before spinning on her heels and storming away.

"She is over reacting. You know Cordy, she is a drama queen." Angel said uncomfortably.

"No, dad she is exactly right. This isn't who you are. I'm ashamed to call you my father." Connor said

"You don't mean that son."

"I do dad. I hate that I feel like this but I do."

"Connor."

"You make me sick dad and I'm following Cordy's lead and for the safety of my son, I don't want you to see him."

"Connor, please."

"You know what you need to do to fix this dad. Are you going to do it?" Angel stood there and Connor stormed off.

"They are both right Angel. I'm afraid that you are going to a dark place and you know what happens when you go into that dark place." Wesley said softly.

"I'm not going dark." He snapped and walked away headed to his penthouse.

"Cor, what are you doing?" He knew exactly what she was doing but because they were pretty sure that their penthouse, along with everything else in Wolfram & Hart, was bugged they made sure never to falter from their plan.

"I'm taking the kids and leaving." She was throwing clothes in a suitcase.

"Cor, please don't do this."

"You made your choice downstairs in your office."

"Its just business."

"Bullshit. It's not just business Angel. Would you let me sign over one of our children to be sacrificed?"

"Of course not."

"Then why would you let a total stranger do it?"

"It's different." He replied lamely.

"No it's not." She walked over and stood in front of him. "You are not the man that I married or love." She placed her wedding ring in his hand. "If you find the champion that I fell in love with have him give me a call."

"Cor."

"Don't try to find us because it will be pointless because you won't have an invitation to enter."

"Can I say goodbye to them?" He asked softly

"I don't think that it's a good idea." She turned and started walk out of the room but he grabbed her arm stopping her.

"I need to say goodbye to them."

"They won't understand that their father is evil."

"I'M NOT." He shouted

"Could have fooled me." She shrugged out of his grasp and walked away from him.

Twenty minutes later, Cordy was standing outside of the entrance of Wolfram & Hart why the kids played in the waiting limo.

"Cordy, please don't go." Fred sobbed as she hugged her best friend.

"I have to Fred."

"Where are you going?" Ciara asked tearfully

"I purchased a house on the beach a few weeks ago."

"A few weeks ago?" Gunn asked.

"I have seen the changes in him so I rented the house in case I needed to get away from him but I hoped that I would never have to use it."

"Then don't." Connor said. "Stay and try to talk some sense back into him. He will listen to you."

"He's not listening to me either. You guys should come with me." She suggested, knowing that they wouldn't agree.

"We need to stay, to try and get him back on the right track." Wesley said.

"Good luck with that." Wesley just started at her. "No I really mean that. Good luck. I hope that you can bring him back." After a few more tears and goodbye hugs, Cordy climbed into the limo with her children. Although she knew that leaving her friends behind at Wolfram and Hart was a means to an end but it still hurt like hell. A few tears ran down her cheek.

"What's wrong mama?" Her sweet boy usually called her mama.

"I'm a little sad that's all."

"Cause Daddy isn't with us." He asked.

"Yeah little man. I'm sad cause Daddy isn't with us."

"Where are we going?" Catherine whined.

"I told you baby, to our new house."

"I don't want a new house." She said stubbornly.

"Well we have one, whether you want it or not." Cordy snapped.

"I want daddy." She crossed her arms across their chest.

"Daddy's not coming but it's OK, you have me and Chase."

"I don't want you or Chase. I want daddy."

"I'm sorry Catherine. You're stuck with us." Cordy rolled her eyes while Catherine sat in her seat and pouted. It was going to be a long night.

--

Cordy walked into the room that her children were sharing. She walked over to her daughter and smiled. Catherine was a crazy sleeper, just like she was. She had only been in bed for an hour and all of her blankets had been thrown to the floor. Cordy picked them up and tucked them around her. She had been a pain all day. She was such a daddy's girl and she pouted, picked fights with her brother and mother, had tantrums, and refused to eat all because her dad wasn't there and now as she looked so sweet and innocent, not the terror from earlier in the day. She kissed her and whispered goodnight.

She sat on the edge of her namesake's bed. She was feeling very sentimental when they were picking out his name. She wanted to continue with the "C" theme but Angel was making it difficult because he didn't like any of the ones that she had picked. They had finally given up for the night and Angel was going through some papers with her maiden name and declared that their son should be named Chase, after his mother and she quickly agreed. She loved that her baby boy would carry her name.

He was such a sweet child. He wasn't as outgoing as his sister and had a very sweet and sensitive side. He was a mama's boy who adored his father and tried to be just like him from the way he had his hair cut to the dark clothes that he always wanted to wear. He has been awfully quiet today and she suspected that he knew something wasn't right in his parent's lives but was too young to fully understand it. She kissed him gently and left her children to sleep.

She walked out onto her deck that gave her a beautiful view of the ocean during the day but right now all she could see was endless blackness. A blackness that she felt was always present in her life. Sometimes she just wished that she was a normal girl with a normal life but that wish only lasted for seconds and then she remembered that she was in love with the most amazing man/vampire and she had two wonderful children, something she never would have had if she had a normal life. She didn't flinch or jump in surprise as a pair of familiar arms encircled her waist and lips found her neck.

"Have any trouble getting out?" She whispered

"No, the amulet worked great, As far as the spy's at Wolfram & Heart are concerned I am tossing and turning in the giant king sized bed in my empty penthouse. What about this place? Is it safe?"

"The cloaking spell that the witches I hired to cast is working perfectly. The only people that can see this house is you, Connor, Ciara, Fred, Wes, Gunn, Justine and Lorne. The big bad can't find us."

"I hate fighting with you, even if it is only pretend." He spun her around, pulled him into his arms and kissed her passionately. "I love you. Don't ever forget it." He whispered when they broke apart.

"I know that." She pulled away from him. "I have blood, are you hungry?"

"Sure."

"Make yourself comfy, I'll be right back." She ran into the house and returned in a few minutes with a glass of blood for Angel and a glass of wine for herself. She handed him his glass then she settled on his lap. They drank in silence for a few minutes then Angel broke the silence.

"How are the kids doing?"

"Catherine was a brat today, fighting, throwing fits, same shit she always pulls when you're not around."

"Sorry about that."

"And Chase is Chase being mommy's little helper and taking the abuse that his big sister bestows upon him."

"I will have to have a talk with her."

"Not for awhile."

"Can't we let them see me? I don't want them to think that I have abandoned them."

"You know your daughter's mouth. She sees you then she will tell everyone that she saw you and our cover is blown."

"Of the many things she got from you, she had to get your mouth."

"Ha Ha very funny." She kissed his nose. "As I recall, you rather enjoy my mouth." He took his thumb and traced her lips with it.

"I do enjoy it." He kissed her again.

They sat outside talking out there plan until a few hours before dawn. He confirmed that because of his actions today he had a meeting with The Circle of The Black Thorn in the next couple of days. They were going to call him the day of the meeting with the details.

"One more thing came up Cor." He said hesitantly.

"What now?"

"I was told that to get in I have to kill someone and I'm going to do it within the next couple of days."

"Someone?" He nodded.

"A friend and a stranger." She shot off of his lap.

"No, no you can't. This is gone to far. Killing a friend is not worth it."

" I'm not going to kill anyone that you know and I guess friend is to strong of a word, more like an acquaintance."

"Who then?"

"I was thinking Spike." He cracked.

"Angel." Her tone was full of warning. He knew it well. She used it a lot on their kids.

"I'm not telling you. It will make it easier if you don't know."

"Dammit, I hate this."

"I need you to be strong Cor. Strong for me, for our friends and for you and for our children."

"Please be careful. I can't lose you." She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

"I promise to be careful." Those words did not bring any comfort to her.


	60. Chapter 60

**I own none of the characters of Angel.**

_OK, Angel, you can do this. _He thought to himself before walking through the door. He heard the screams from the other side and it took every once of self-control that he had inside of him, not to kick the door down, run through it and save the man on the other side. He knew right about this time his friends were finding out that he had someone they knew killed. He physically didn't do it himself, but the way that he was feeling, he might as well have. The screaming was getting worse. He closed his eyes, and pictured his family. Connor, Ciara and his beautiful grandson Patrick. He still couldn't believe that he was a grandfather. He was definitely old enough, he had recently passed the 250 mark, but he sure didn't feel it, especially since he had a five and eight year old running around. Catherine and Chase. He had been so evil that every time he looked at them, he knew that he didn't deserve them or their love. And finally there was Cordelia. After Buffy, he was convinced that he would never love another woman again, but he was wrong, so wrong. She had stolen his heart and he loved her more then he thought was possible. She was a champion, his champion. She had done so much good in the world. She had helped save so many innocent lives. Her love had saved his life.

_All right, it's now or never. _He took a second to steady his shaking hand. He couldn't let them see his fear. He threw the door open and the look of relief on the prisoner's face, almost made Angel turn around. He placed his large hands around the neck of the demon that was giving the beating, and in one effortless twist, he snapped his neck.

"Thank you." The prisoner gushed. Angel grabbed is upper arms and turned his normally handsome face into a vampire with sharp teeth and yellow eyes. "Please." The stranger begged. Angel leaned forward and sunk his sharp teeth into the poor man's neck and began to drink.

_Oh my God, I have missed this. Pig's blood is good, but there is nothing like the taste of warm human blood in my mouth. _He thought as he drunk. _Snap out of it. You will never drink human blood again. _He felt his victim's heart rate slow then finally stop. He shoved him to the ground and looked up at his audience and smiled an evil smile.

--

"Who is it?" Cordy yelled through the door.

"Cordelia, it's us. We need to talk to you." Wesley said through the closed door. She took a deep breath. She knew why they were there, at her door. Angel had someone killed. He still refused to tell her who it was because he assumed that she would try to save them and he was right, she would have. She opened the door and everyone walked in with their children in tow.

"Sorry to barge in like this." Fred said.

"No problem, you guys are welcome anytime. Catherine and Chase are playing in their room. Why don't we take the kids back there so we can talk?" All of the kids were thrilled to be back together again. They hadn't seen each other since Cordy and the kids left Wolfram and Hart two weeks ago. Within minutes, they were all playing together like they had never been apart.

"So what's going on?" Cordy asked as she poured them all cups of coffee. She was becoming quite the hostess.

"Angel is evil again." Ciara burst out.

"Excuse me?"

"We think that Angel has turned evil." Wesley explained.

"I was hoping that this wouldn't happen. What makes you think so? Has he slept with another woman?"

"Droman is dead." Gunn said and Cordy had to bite back her tears. Droman was a peaceful demon who had been a huge help when they were battling the beast. He had been able to get them all kinds of resources from the demon black market that without him, they wouldn't have been able to get. He even joined them in the final battle. In a small way, he had reminded Cordy of Doyle. He had unknowingly sacrificed himself for the greater good.

"What does that have to do with Angel being evil?"

"Angel sent a demon to kill him." Gunn said.

"That's impossible. Angel wouldn't do something like that." Cordy said, "You have no proof."

"Droman found us before he died and told us that the demon told him that he was hired by Angel to kill him." Connor said

"This can't be happening." Cordy whispered.

"It's happening. You tried to warn us but we didn't listen Cordycakes." Lorne said sadly

"He is not himself. He is distant, He has been having secret meetings, secret phone calls. If any of us happen to walk into his office during one of these phone calls, he stops talking until we leave." Fred said.

"Like I said, Angel has become evil. " Ciara quipped.

"So I say that we all quit." Justine said.

"You can't. If we have any hope of saving him we have to be close to him and if you all quit then we won't be able to get close." Cordy explained.

"Why should we save him?" Gunn asked, "He killed an innocent demon for no good reason."

"This is Angel we are talking about. There was a reason."

"Cordelia, remember when we were fired. Remember how he was acting? His behavior is very familiar." The group was silent for a minute.

"OK, it's getting late and here is what I am suggesting. We all need to think about the next step. It's late so let's meet back here tomorrow night and bounce some idea's off of each other and formulate a plan." Cordy said. The group agreed, gathered up their children and headed to their respective homes with heavy hearts. Once they had left, Cordy reactivated the cloaking spell so she and her children would be safe. Since she knew that she would be receiving guests, she had removed the cloaking spell in case that they were followed. She didn't want to arouse any suspicions with a non-existent house. Once she got the kids into bed, she lost her brave resolve and she collapsed on the couch and sobbed.

--

The observers in the room dropped their masks and began offering their congratulations to Angel and it made him sick. He knew that they were monsters but hearing them congratulate him for killing an innocent human, made his skin crawl.

"Well done Angel."

"Thank you, I think." He replied

"A lot of people didn't think that you had it in you."

"Why not? I have killed more people then everyone in this room combined. Killing for a vampire is like breathing to a human. It just comes naturally." His ears were offended by the words that his mouth was speaking.

"Just with that soul that you have, and the guilt that would accompany it, most men couldn't do what you just did."

"I'm not most men. I'm a vampire and I got over that guilt thing a long time ago. It's really over rated." Angel said as they all sat at the table.

"We received conformation that Droman is dead by your order. Is that correct?"

"After the amount of money that I paid the assassin, he better be."

"And your staff knows about it."

"They do. I made sure that Droman was left alive long enough to go to them and tell them that I ordered his death and when he was left alone the job was finished. I have all of their office's bugged and yesterday, they were talking about quitting. So my employees will be out of the picture soon and not causing us any problems."

"And your wife?"

"What about my wife?"

"Will she be a problem?"

"She has taken my children and left me two weeks ago and I have not heard from her since so to answer your question, no she won't be a problem."

"How can you be so sure?"

"She is a very stubborn person. She has decided that I am evil and she doesn't want to be with the evil me. Obviously those vows that we said mean nothing to her. Oh well. Good riddance I say. She would have brought me down eventually."

"We have one more act of loyalty Angel." He panicked. What if they asked him to kill one of his friends, family or Cordelia? He could not do it.

"And what would that be?" He asked calmly and a paper was placed in front of him.

"We have heard that if you do enough good things, you will be rewarded and turned human. We want you sign away any chance of becoming human."

"Fine, I can do that." He took a pen out of his pocket at the same time that a knife was placed in front of him.

"With blood."

"Fine." He sliced the palm of his hand and signed away any chance of ever being able to walk out into the sun with his children.

--

Hours later, Cordy was sitting outside on her deck, wrapped up in a blanket, listening to the waves come to shore. She was scared, she was confused and she was mad as hell.

"Hey." Came his voice from behind her. She didn't respond. "Cor, honey are you OK?" She quickly stood up and whirled around to face him.

"Droman Angel? How could you?" She asked with tears streaming down her face.

"Shit, is someone here? I need to hide."

"No one is here but us. I'm not acting Angel."

"Cordy, I didn't have a choice. I'll already feel bad enough as it is, I don't need you making me feel any worse." He snapped and walked away from her and she followed him.

"Answer me just one question. Why him? He was so sweet." She sniffled.

"He was a new player and he trusted me." He answered simply.

"I can't do this anymore. It's not worth it. Innocent people are dying."

"And if we don't do this many more innocent people will die Cordelia."

"I'm sorry. You're right. I just didn't think that it would be this hard."

"Tell me about it." He muttered as he walked into his children's room. He needed to surround himself in their innocence and Cordy sensed that he needed to be alone she curled herself back on the deck chair and waited until he had worked through his own personal demons. He came out with her about an hour later. He stood on the deck, resting his arms on the railing staring out into the darkness. She went to join him, positioning his arms around her.

"Feel better?" She knew that seeing his children tended to put his mind at ease.

"Not really." She turned to face him.

"I'm sorry baby." She leaned up to kiss him, but he turned his face away from hers.

"Don't."

"Angel?" He turned to look at her and the tears were running down his face. She took her hand and tried to wipe away his tears but he jerked away from her.

"I killed a man tonight Cordelia."

"I know."

"He thought that I was there to save him but instead I killed him. I drank human blood and dammit I liked it. I don't like the fact that I killed him and I hate myself for enjoying the taste."

"You're a vampire Angel. You are supposed to like human blood. There is nothing wrong with that as long as you don't keep drinking it."

"I will never become human." He whispered softly.

"Because you drank? That's ridiculous."

"My last test of loyalty to the circle was to sign away any chance that I might have to become human. I signed it in my own blood."

"Oh."

"I always thought that one day, I may be able to take the kids to the park or go into the ocean with you but now I will never be able to do those things. Aww hell, I deserve it after what I have done in my life, especially lately. I never did deserve to be human."

"Bull shit and quit feeling sorry for yourself. If anyone deserves to be human, it's you baby. Sure you were the scrooge of Europe in your younger days, but my God, you have done so much good. Your children love you and I love you and you have never been out in the sun with any of us and just because you know now that you never will be able to does not make us love you any less." He finally relaxed and pulled her into his arms.

"Dammit, I don't deserve you."

"Of course you don't. Have you forgotten who I am? No one deserves me. I'm special." He finally smiled. "There's my boy. Angel you do deserve me. Don't you ever forget it." This time he allowed her to wipe the tears from his eyes and they kissed gently.

"So did the gang show up?" He asked as he sat down and pulled her down in his lap.

"They did and they were furious. I told them to keep appearances normal and show up to work tomorrow and then they will be here tomorrow night to discuss a plan of action."

"Good. Everything is going according to schedule."

"The kids were so glad to see each other again."

"Have they been asking about me?"

"Everyday."

"What are you telling them?"

"Daddy had to go away for a little while but he loves and misses them very much."

"I really do."

"I know it baby."

"I should probably go. I don't want to risk getting caught." He said sadly.

"No, please don't. I haven't slept well since I left our home. I can't sleep without your arms around me."

"Then I'll stay until you fall asleep."

"No, that's worse because then I have to wake up to an empty bed."

"I'm sorry. It won't be much longer now."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Walk me to the door." And she reluctantly did. They stood at the door kissing for a long time. She did not want to let him go.

"Cor, I have to go." He groaned.

"I know."

"You gotta let go of my neck." She loosened her grip so he was able to delicately pull out of her grasp.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow. She affirmed.

--

The next night the former members of Angel Inc, had gathered back at Cordy's house.

"Well none of us saw him today. His Royal stick up the ass was brooding all day long in his office." Lorne said.

"I know how to fix this." Cordy said

"I don't think that we can." Fred said sadly.

"You can come out now." She shouted and Angel walked into the living room and his friends sat there in silence and shock.

"I do not have a stick up my ass and I do not brood." Angel said.

"Yes you do." Everyone replied.

"What the hell is going on? Is this an intervention?" Gunn asked.

"No Gunn, this is not an intervention." Cordelia said and she linked her hand with Angel's.

"Cordy, how can you still be with him after everything that he has done?" Ciara asked.

"Please let me explain." Angel begged.

"There is no explanation that I want to hear in regards to what you have done." Connor said.

"Will you guys just let him talk? There is something big going down that you have no idea about."

"How do you know?" Justine asked

"I had the vision that led us to this point."

"Now this I need to hear." Connor said and Cordy glared at him.

"Well as Cordy said, it all began with a vision that the powers sent to her….." Angel began and for the next hour he and Cordy told them everything, from the beast, to the move to Wolfram & Hart, to his latest actions regarding Droman and the man he killed yesterday. When they finished the group sat there in stunned silence. Trying to break the tension, Cordy brought them all out a beer.

"It was all a lie? The fights? Everything?" Ciara asked and they nodded. "The kids, do they know?"

"They haven't seen me. We all know what a big mouth that Catherine has and we couldn't risk her blowing my cover."

"You knew the whole time?" Fred whispered. She, like the rest of the group, felt betrayed by their lies but at the same time relived that it was all a lie.

"I'm the one who got the vision so I knew before he did." Cordy replied.

"Why couldn't you trust us, me? I'm your son." Connor said.

"The Circle had to believe in my actions and the only way for that to happen was for you guys to believe it. Every inch of Wolfram & Hart is bugged so I couldn't take the chance of a slip up. That's why Cordy had to move out. We needed a safe place to talk and plan."

"How do we know that this place is safe?" Lorne asked

"I had a cloaking and deception spell placed on the house. You guys are the only ones that can see it. If the Wolfram & Hart goons followed any of you here, they are seeing a house that I want them to see and hearing conversations that I want them to hear." Cordy explained.

"Very impressive Cordelia." Wesley praised.

"Thank you."

"So what now?" Gunn asked.

"I need to take The Circle down and I can't do it on my own. If I try I can only do it one by one and they would be quickly on to me and kill me. If The Circle is not taken down we will experience the apocalypse of all apocalypse's and we won't be able to stop it and it will be the end of the world as we know it."

"So once The Circle is destroyed that will stop it?" Connor asked.

"Not quite. Once The Circle is destroyed we will be able to summon The Senior Partners and then I can destroy them. They are protected by an intact circle and once it's broken, they are vulnerable."

"Angel, The Senior Partners are extremely powerful. How can you alone destroy them?" Wesley asked.

"All of their power has a source. Once they are summoned I can access the power source and destroy it and therefore the partners."

"How can you summon them?" Fred asked.

"I have obtained a summoning spell that will bring The Senior Partners to us but it can only be cast once The Circle has been destroyed."

"What about you dad? If you are still around then The Circle won't be completely broken." Connor asked.

"If one member kills another member then the killer's name is immediately erased from the roster per say."

"This is unbelievable." Ciara said

"It's believable. Trust me. We've been living it." Cordy said.

"I know that I have given you guys a lot of heavy stuff tonight but the attack on The Circle needs to happen soon, like tomorrow. I can't risk them learning the truth because if they do they will kill my family and friends. That is something that I cannot let happen. I can't do this alone. I need my team but I want you guys to know that it will be very dangerous. I can't make you help me all I can do is ask, so that is what I am doing. Will you help me save the world?"


	61. Chapter 61

**I own none of the characters of Angel **

No one dared answer right away and he didn't expect them to. What he was asking of them was huge and he knew that they needed time to think about it.

"We will be outside. Let us know when you have made your decision and know that any decision that you make is fine with us." Angel said as he took Cordy's hand and led her out on the deck.

"Well they took it better than I expected." She said sadly

"Yeah they did, but Connor is furious with me."

"At first he was but now he understands."

"I hope so." Cordy wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist and they stood out in the darkness listening to the waves crash, hugging each other tightly. Neither of them knew how long they were standing there like that, they were just concentrating on being close to each other, when they were interrupted by Connor.

"Dad, Cor, we have made our decision." They slowly broke their embrace and followed Connor back into the house.

"Angel we have discussed this to death. We have all weighed the pro's and con's and the con's definitely outweigh the pro's but the one pro that we can't get past and that would be saving the world. It's what we do. We help the helpless and right now the helpless is the world and it's our job and duty to help the world, to save it and ourselves so we are in." Wesley said.

"Thank you, everybody. I.." Angel looked at Cordy "We couldn't do this without you." Over the next couple of hours, Angel and Cordy laid out their plan and what everyone needed to do.

"I have called Spike in to assist us." Angel said

"But you hate Spike." Ciara said

"I don't like him, that is true sweetie, but he is almost as strong as I am and when I take down The Senior Partners I need all of the muscle I can get." Everyone nodded. "Now when all of the members of The Circle are terminated Cordy will summon the partners and then Spike, Connor, Gunn, and Wesley will destroy them."

"And me." Cordy said.

"No not you." Angel said and Cordy opened her mouth to respond but Angel stopped her. "Don't start this argument again Cordelia." She glared at him and he ignored her and continued. "Cordy and I have also managed to put away some of Wolfram & Hart's money away in accounts for all of you so no matter how tomorrow turns out, you all will have enough money to do whatever you want."

"That's stealing." Fred said

"From the big bad. Who cares?" Gunn said.

"What about the agency?" Wes asked

"My plan is to keep it open but now that we will have a little extra cushion to fall back on I want to help people because we can, not because we have to so we can make a living."

The group all agreed that they wanted to keep on working for Angel after all was said and done.

"I have one more favor to ask of you." Angel said

"What's that?" Lorne asked

"Spend tomorrow with your family. Take the time to look at the sun."

"Shouldn't we be preparing for battle?" Wesley asked

"We are already prepared. We have done this a thousand times. We are ready. We will meet tomorrow in the alley behind the Hyperion at sundown." Angel said.

After all of the details of their plan had been fined tuned and Connor and Ciara had made arrangements to come by the next day, everyone had headed to their homes to spend some quality time together.

"Cor, I want to take the kids down to the beach. The sun has set but it is still light out. What do you think?" Angel asked.

"I think that is a wonderful idea." She said with a smile then she yelled for their children. "Catherine, Chase come out here please." Within seconds they heard two pairs of feet running down the hall.

"Daddy." They yelled when they came into the living room and saw Angel standing with Cordelia. He bent down to their level and held out his arms as they threw themselves at him.

"I have missed you guys so much." He said into their hair.

"Where were you?" Catherine asked

"Working pumpkin."

"I hate your work." Chase said.

"You guys want to go to the beach?" He asked them

"Yeah." Both kids yelled

"All right then, let's go." He hoisted Catherine up on his shoulders and took Chase took his hand and the family headed down to the beach. The water was still warm so Angel, Catherine and Chase all ran into the waves.

"Mama, come on in." Chase yelled

"I'm coming baby." Cordy slipped her shoes off, rolled up her pants and joined her family in the water. They all stayed playing in the water until it was so dark that they couldn't see and they reluctantly headed back to the house.

"They're going to need baths." Cordy said

"I know. I'll do it. Why don't you go get your own shower?" She kissed his lips and headed for her bathroom while Angel got started on the kid's bath. Thirty minutes later, the kids were bathed, tucked into bed and their father had just finished reading them a story. They fell asleep half way through the book but he finished anyway just because he could. He kissed his children and went to check on Cordy. He walked into the bedroom and found his beautiful wife lying naked on the bed.

"Care to join me?" She asked seductively and Angel couldn't get out of clothes fast enough. Once naked he jumped on the bed causing Cordy to start giggling.

"Something funny?" He asked as he placed his lips on her neck. The giggling immediately ceased and was replaced by a soft moan.

"Kiss me." She murmured. She pulled his head up to meet hers and their lips quickly found each other's. He found her tongue with his own. He groaned into her mouth. As much as he loved kissing her mouth, there were other parts of her body that he really needed to kiss at that moment. He pulled his mouth away from hers and placed it on her breasts. His mouth fondled one breast while his hand fondled the other.

"Angel" She breathed as she ran her fingers through his dark hair. He moved his mouth down to her belly, leaving wet kisses on every inch of her stomach. The closer he got to her center he felt the heat radiating from her body. He placed gentle kisses on the most intimate part of her. While he was still kissing he slid his fingers inside of her. She responded by digging her nails into his back. The once loud Cordy had learned to express her pleasure in other, quieter ways because she didn't want to wake the kids. He began to nibble on her engorged clitoris. She began to squirm beneath his mouth. She wrapped her legs around him, rubbing the soles of her feet up and down his back. Suddenly his fingers were gone and his tongue was inside her. The squirming intensified. He swirled it around and then darted it in and out of her. Her legs tightened around him. He drew this delicious torture out for awhile. Finally, after a lot of begging on her part mixed with soft whimpers he finished what he started and brought her to an intense orgasm.

"How is it possible that it just keeps getting better?" She asked breathlessly as he lay beside her.

"I guess I'm just good like that." Cordy rolled herself on top of him.

"You think an awful lot of yourself don't you?" She leaned forward, her breasts brushing against his chest and met him with a gentle kiss. One of his arms snaked around her neck while the other gently caressed her back. "I love you Angel." She whispered as her tongue began to flick his nipples.

"I love you Cordy." He groaned. Just like he did to her she planted light, wet kisses all over his chest and taunt stomach. Very soon she reached his throbbing erection. She lifted her head, winked at him then took his entire length in her mouth. Puffing out her cheeks she moved her head slowly up and down while Angel ran his fingers through her hair. When she pulled her mouth away from him she blew a puff of air onto his tip and then began to draw circles on it with her tongue. He practically went over the edge right there. It was her turn to do the torturing and she was enjoying every minute of it. When it got to the point that instead of running his fingers through her hair he was pulling it until she finished what she started.

"Talk about getting better every time." He said as he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him.

"I thought that you would like that." She replied smugly.

"I'm so sorry that we can't make love Cor." He whispered sadly in her ears.

"Don't be sorry. I'm okay with it and you should be too. I never thought that we ever would be able to but we got to do it twice Angel and every time I look at Catherine or Chase I remember those two wonderful nights. I wouldn't change a thing about our life together. Okay, there would be a lot of things that I would change, like the monsters and demons that attack us, shit like that but I never would change anything about the love that we feel for each other."

"Neither would I baby." He kissed her head. She quickly fell asleep in the familiar comfort of his arms while he stayed awake all night hoping like hell he had made the right decision in taking down The Senior Partners. By the time the sun rose he didn't feel any better but he knew what had to be done.

--

Two hours after sunset they were all in the lobby of their former home, The Hyperion, regrouping and repairing wounds. They had all successfully destroyed the members on The Circle of the Black Thorn. They all were injured but Gunn and Wesley took the worst of it. They were sitting in the lobby getting patched up while Cordy and Angel were yelling at each other.

"Cordelia, I am not discussing this with you anymore. You are not coming in with me."

"I am not a child Angel. Gunn and Wes can't help you so you need me."

"Connor, Spike and I can handle it."

"I can handle it myself. I don't need pop and junior." Spike had to put his two cents in.

"SHUT UP SPIKE." They yelled together.

"I can help you."

"You are helping by summoning the partners. That's all the help that you are going to give." He snapped at her. He was tired of having the same argument with her.

"Don't talk to me like that."

"Look Cor, I can't have you in there with me. I won't be able to fight if I have to worry about protecting you."

"I don't need your protection." She snapped

"It's who I am. Protecting the woman I love is in my DNA. Do this for me, please." The last word came out in a whisper. She nodded. "Wes, Gunn you guys are in no shape to fight but do you think you can handle keeping her out after she says the spell. I don't exactly trust her to do as I ask." They both nodded and Cordelia glared at him. "Why don't we say goodbye now?" Each man went over to their families. Angel hugged his children tightly to his chest.

"Ow daddy." Catherine cried. "Your hug hurts."

"Sorry chipmunk. Daddy needs to go to work now."

"Again?" Chase whined. He just got his father back and wasn't ready to lose him back to work yet.

"Yeah Chase, again. I love you both very much."

"I love you too." They both said together. Angel reluctantly released his children and met his crew at the door. "All right then, let's finish this." And the six of them headed to Wolfram and Hart.

"So you think since I am helping save the world and you have given up your chance to become a real boy ya think that I will be rewarded with humanness?" Spike asked on the drive over.

"Is that why you are helping Spike? For a reward?" Wesley asked

"You don't think that I am doing it out of the goodness of my heart do you because in case you have forgotten I don't have one."

"Why would you want to become human? You will lose the strength and power." Gunn said

"I would like to be able to walk out into the sun with my girlfriend. I want to give her a baby. She wants one and unlike a vampire that I won't mention by name but happens to be driving the car, those damn powers haven't felt that I deserved to be able to reproduce."

"Because they are smart. No one or thing with any sense at all would let you reproduce." Angel said.

"Are you still with Buffy?" Wesley asked

"Yep."

"Does she want your child?" Connor spoke up.

"She hasn't come right out and said it but I see the way she looks wistfully at kids. So I know that she would like a child of her own, although she would never admit it to me." The remainder of the car ride was silent, each lost in their own thoughts about their own kids except Spike who was just whistling a happy tune.

Once the arrived at Wolfram & Hart they all walked into the foyer. The building was deserted. All of the employees must have sensed that something was going down and they all took off to save their own hides.

"Okay Spike and Connor, when the powers are summoned along with them will come their protection in the form of demons. Once the power source is destroyed the partners and demons will be gone. Got it?" They nodded. "Gunn, Wes, keep her out of harms way, no matter how much shit gives you." Cordy glared at him so he took her hand and pulled her away from the others. "You stay safe, for me, Catherine and Chase. Promise me Cordy."

"I promise." This time he believed her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all of the love that he felt for her. "I love you so much Angel." She whispered tearfully.

"I love you too Cordy. More than you'll ever know."

"Promise me that you'll be careful." She begged.

"I promise." They kissed once more then they joined the rest of the group. "All right Cor, you're on. As soon as the party starts get the hell out." She nodded and after one last lingering look, Cordy began to chant and throw the Melikic powder around the room.

"Ahinson Biaconfir, Coudsentin, Dontachum,Siumdoum,Olengahd, Finbedsun. Ahinson Biaconfir, Coudsentin, Dontachum,Siumdoum,Olengahd, Finbedsun. Ahinson Biaconfir, Coudsentin, Dontachum,Siumdoum,Olengahd, Finbedsun.. Ahinson Biaconfir, Coudsentin, Dontachum,Siumdoum,Olengahd, Finbedsun. Ahinson Biaconfir, Coudsentin, Dontachum,Siumdoum,Olengahd, Finbedsun. Ahinson Biaconfir, Coudsentin, Dontachum,Siumdoum,Olengahd, Finbedsun."

As soon as Cordy spoke those words for the fifth time the walls began to shake inside of Wolfram & Hart. "Cordy get out." Angel shouted. She froze. The shaking was getting worse. "Cordelia GO." He yelled. They locked eyes for a second before she ran out of the building.

The walls were cracking and furniture was being torn apart and the pieces were being tossed throughout the room by the sheer force of the partners being brought to this dimension. The demon protectors were the first to show up. There were lots of demons but they really were no match for Connor, Spike and Angel. They were all muscle but no brain so that made killing them easily. The shaking increased and from out the floor raised something that Angel had never seen the likes of and he spent a hundred years in hell. The best way was he could describe what he was seeing was ten giant black blobs, each with red eyes and multiple tentacles. It didn't take Angel long to spot their power source. It was on a podium in the middle of the partners. It was a giant ball with a black smoke inside of it.

"Holy shit." Spike said as he saw The Senior Partners.

"Oh my God." Connor whispered as his eyes widened.

"Vampire you will die." The partners roared.

"You first." Angel said as he began chopping off tentacles as Spike and Connor were easily keeping the demons at bay.

"A little help would be great." Angel shouted as he picked himself off the ground for the tenth time, after being picked up by one of the tentacles and thrown across the room.

"Spike can you handle these?" Connor asked. There weren't many left and Spike was having a blast.

"Got it mate. Go help grandpa. He needs all the help that he can get." Spike said with a smile. He was quite amused that Angel was a grandfather so he loved using that to imply that he was old anytime that he could, even in the middle of a battle.

"Dad to your right." Connor shouted. Angel ducked and missed the attacking tentacle, spun around and chopped it off.

--

Cordy was pacing in front of the car. She hated waiting. She wanted to be in there fighting alongside of Angel but she knew that he was right. She knew that he would be worrying about her safety and he wouldn't be able to do his job to the best of his ability but it still pissed her off.

"God Dammit." She shouted

"What's wrong?" Gunn asked

"What's wrong is that I am out here being baby sat and Angel is inside fighting. I should be helping him."

"Cordelia, you are helping him by being out here and allowing him to concentrate. It will be over soon." Wesley said,

"It shouldn't be taking this long. We have been out here for over an hour. I need to know what is going on." She said. She started to head from the door but Gunn and Wesley each grabbed one of her arms and led her back to the parking lot.

"Cordelia don't." Wesley warned.

"What if he needs me?" She whispered.

"This is Angel that you are talking about. He will be fine." Gunn said

Cordy sighed and began to pace again. She was never a patient woman and this waiting was killing her. Suddenly the powers sent her a vision, or more accurately, she was seeing what was happening inside in real time. "Thank you." She whispered. She felt better that she was able to watch what was going on.

--

Angel was finally making headway since Connor had started helping him. He was getting closer to the power source. He was just waiting for the perfect opening.

"Connor, behind you." Angel shouted and Connor easily spun on his heels and chopped off yet another tentacle.

"Duck Dad." A group of tentacles were swooping down towards him. He quickly fell on his back to avoid being trapped. He couldn't afford to waste anymore time by getting thrown across the room. He was becoming exhausted. Once he was in the clear he popped back up and got to chopping. He finally saw his opportunity. He had a perfect path to the power source.

"I'm going for it." Angel yelled and he took off running, pulling out his small ax from his pocket. He swung his arm back and when he was a few feet away he swung is ax and sent it flying right into the middle of the power source. As soon as contact was made the demons disappeared, The Senior Partners screamed in agony and a huge light filled the room and exploded, sending everyone through the air.

"Oh my god." Cordy said as she saw all of this from outside and she began to run toward the building.

Because Angel was the closest to the explosion he was sent flying with more force then Spike and Connor. Even though it was only seconds, Angel felt as he was in the air forever. It was as if his body was moving in slow motion. He was slammed into a wall across the room, the only part of the wall that had a piece of wood protruding out from a former desk that sat in the lobby. Before he knew what was happening he felt that piece of wood cut right through his heart.

"ANGEL." Cordelia screamed and the last thing that Angel saw was Cordelia's beautiful panic stricken face because within seconds he was a pile of dust.


	62. Chapter 62

**I own none of the characters of Angel **

Connor and Spike had just pulled themselves off of the floor and Gunn and Wesley had just gotten into the lobby when they all saw Angel being thrown into the wall. They heard Cordelia scream and then they saw Angel turn into a pile of dust. Spike, Gunn and Wesley stood there in shock, Connor dropped his sword and fell to his knees and Cordelia ran over to the pile of dust.

"No, no, no, no. This cannot be happening." She whispered as she picked up the only thing that remained of the man she loved, his wedding ring. From a distance she heard Connor sobbing. Wesley walked over to her.

"Cordelia, he's gone." Wesley said tearfully

"No, he's not. He promised to be careful." She said stubbornly.

"I'll be damned. I never thought Angel would get dusted." Spike said

"It should have been you." Cordy screamed. It was finally sinking in that he was gone. "He was a good man. He helped people because he wanted to, unlike you, you selfish bastard. You only did this for a chance at becoming human. It shouldn't have happened like this. He has a family."

"We need to go." Wesley whispered.

"No, I'm not leaving him." She sobbed.

"He's not here." He tried to pull her to her feet but she refused. "Cordelia, please."

"He's right here." She was scooping the dust into a pile. Wesley left her alone and went to check on Connor who was sobbing in the corner.

"Connor?" He asked gently.

"Dad." Was the only word that he could get out.

"I know."

"What the hell happened?" Gunn asked when Wesley walked over to him.

"I need to call Fred. Stay with them." Wesley walked away from Angel's wife and son and made one of the hardest phone calls of his life. Ten minutes later he was back in the lobby and motioned Gunn over to him. "We need to get them out of here before this building goes down."

"I don't think that Cordy will leave."

"She doesn't have a choice. Can you get Connor out to the car?" Gunn nodded and headed over to Connor.

"Cordelia, this building isn't safe. We need to leave." Wesley said softly

"I…can't leave…him."

"He's not here."

"Yes he is." She screamed. " He has to be here. He wouldn't of left me or the children."

"You're right. He wouldn't of willing left you, Connor, Catherine or Chase. It wasn't his choice to leave."

"I should have seen it coming. I should have had a vision and I could have stopped it."

"It wasn't your fault Cordelia."

"You're right it wasn't my fault. The Powers did this." She lifted her head towards the sky. "How could you do this?" She screamed. "After everything that he has done for you? How could you take him away from me, from his children? I'm done working for you. Do you hear me? I'm done. Don't ever send me another vision again." She collapsed in sobs. She allowed Wesley to lift her up and carry her to the car.

"Spike are you coming?" Wesley asked.

"No mate, I did what I came to do. I have no reason to go back to the hotel, especially now. Cordelia I'm so sorry." He whispered as he walked away into the darkness.

The ride back to the hotel was silent except for Cordelia's sobbing. Silent tears were falling from Connor and Gunn's eyes. Wesley stared straight ahead at the road in front of him. When he pulled in front of the hotel, Fred, Ciara, Justine and Lorne rushed out. The men slowly climbed out of the car into the arms of their wives.

"He's gone C, my dad is gone and I couldn't do anything to save him." Connor sobbed.

"I can't believe this is happening." Fred said as she looked at Cordy who was still crying in the car. "Poor Cordy. I don't know how she is going to get through this."

"Cordelia do you want to stay here or go home?" Wesley asked.

"Home…wherever Angel was, that was my home. I don't have a home anymore." Wesley helped her out of the car and into the hotel where she walked into his office, touching everything that belonged to him. She picked up a recent photo of herself and the kids. She looked at her friends her were standing in the office with her. "How do I tell my babies that their daddy is dead, that he is never coming back?" She sobbed as she collapsed in his chair.

"You don't have to tell them tonight sweetie pie." Lorne said

"I shouldn't have to tell them that their father is dead." Still holding the picture in her hand she threw it against the wall causing everyone to jump in surprise. "Where are they?"

"Asleep in their old room." Fred answered.

"I can't do this. I can't raise my children without their father. I need Angel."

"We'll be here Cordy. You won't be alone." Fred said

"I don't want you. I want Angel." She sobbed. "I want my husband." Fred went over and pulled Cordy into her arms and held her while she sobbed.

"Cordelia, I have something for you." Wesley said.

"Is it Angel?" He shook his head.

"Five years ago when Angel went after Carlo he wrote letters to you, Connor, Ciara, and Catherine. He asked me to give them to you in case anything happened. Since nothing happened to him, I kept the letters and every so often he would update them. Once Chase was born he added a letter for him. The last time he updated these was before the beast came to town." Cordy, Connor and Ciara stared at him in shock. "He never intended to die but he was prepared for it and he wanted to make sure that his family knew how much he loved them if anything ever happened to him." Wesley handed out the letters. Connor had just gotten his emotions under control and when Wesley handed him his letter he broke down again and Ciara who had been crying since she got the news cried harder.

"I….uh…can we stay here tonight?" Connor asked between sobs. Cordy nodded. "Cor, I'm so sorry. I should have saved him." Before she could respond he and Ciara were gone.

"I need to see my kids." She said. She grabbed the letters that Wesley gave her, walked past her friends and up to Catherine and Chase's room. As soon as he opened the door and saw them lying there the sobbing started again. She tried to keep them quiet but it didn't work.

"Mama?" Chase said "Why are you crying?"

"Oh baby." She cried and pulled him into her lap. Cordy didn't even realize that Catherine had woken up until she crawled on her lap.

"Mommy why are you sad?" Cordy pulled herself together.

"I have something very sad to tell you. Daddy got hurt at work tonight."

"Is he okay?" Catherine asked.

"No baby girl he's not okay. Daddy died." The kids had seen enough death in their short lives to know what it meant. They knew that when someone died, good or bad that they would never see them again.

"Daddy's not coming back?" Catherine asked

"No sweetie he's not coming back?" Catherine burst into tears.

"Does he not love us anymore?" Chase asked and Cordy's heart broke again.

"Daddy loves you very much. He didn't want to go away little man." Chase began to cry and Cordy held her children on her lap while they cried for the man that they loved so much.

--

"I don't think that I can read this." Connor said tearfully. He and Ciara sat on the bed with Patrick lying between them.

"How about I read you yours and you read me mine?" Ciara suggested.

"I'll go first." Ciara handed him her letter.

_Dearest Ciara-_

_My sweet daughter, it has been an honor to have been your father over the years. You are an amazing woman, wife and mother. I think that you were put on this earth to take care of children. You flourish when you are around little ones. Thank you for being such a wonderful sister to Catherine and Chase. They really love and adore you, as well they should. Speaking of children, please make sure that Patrick knows about his grandfather, the good and the bad. Make sure he knows how much I love him, he is an amazing kid and I'm sorry that I won't be around to see him grow up but one thing that I know for certain that because of you he will grow into an amazing man. You and Connor really need to have more babies. You have so much love to give Ciara, keep on giving it. I have one favor to ask of you. Take care of Connor. He is going to take my death hard. He is going to feel guilty even though there was nothing he could of done. Help him through this. You two are going to need each other. Be there and support each other. Ciara, don't give up, don't let my death be for nothing. Keep on fighting to make the world a better place for your son. I know you can do it. Thank you for the privilege of being your father. I love you Ciara._

_-Dad_

Ciara was sobbing by the time Connor finished reading her letter. He pulled her into his arms and held her until her sobbing subsided.

"I..I just can't believe he's gone." She whispered and Connor just nodded. "Are you ready for your letter?" He shook his head.

"If you read me the letter then it means that he is really gone."

"Sweetie, he's gone whether of not you read the letter." He didn't respond. "Connor, you need to hear your father's last words."

"Go ahead." Ciara slowly opened the letter.

_Connor-_

_I am so sorry that you are reading this because this letter was only written with the intent that it be read if I'm dead. Connor, it's not your fault. There was nothing that you could have done to stop it. I am so proud of the man that you have become. Because I am your father your life hasn't always been easy. Your childhood was taken away from you and for that I am so sorry. You were the miracle that I never was supposed to have and when you came into my life I was so happy. I tried everything to keep you safe and I failed and for that I am so sorry. I suppose that it all worked out because I got you back, not the baby I lost but a man came back to me. Granted, you tried to kill me but it all turned out for the better. It has been an honor to be your father. I have watched you grow from an unhappy young man to the wonderful husband, father and friend that you are today. I still can't believe that my baby boy is a father, a great father. Connor, I know how hard this will be for you but I need you to continue the fight against evil. I know that you are going to want to give up, but DON'T. Fighting evil was what you were born to do. If you give up then my death was for nothing. Don't let me die in vain. I know that this is so hard for you but you can't give up. Now, on a more personal note look out for your brother and sister. Share your memories of me with them. They are so young and my death is going to be hard for them to understand. Please help them. I need you to teach them how to fight, like I taught you. Just because I'm gone doesn't mean the threat to their lives is gone. Teach them how to defend themselves. They adore and look up to their big brother. Be there for them since I can't be. Connor, you are a champion, a hero. My hero. Don't ever forget that. I am so proud to have been your father. I just wish I could have had that job for longer than I did. Take care your amazing wife and son. Never forget how much I love you._

_-Dad_

--

After the kids cried themselves to sleep Cordy tucked them back into bed and went into her room, the room that she shared with Angel. She sniffed the air, trying to pick up the scent of the man that she loved but she got nothing. They haven't been in this room for six months, not since they went to Wolfram & Hart, so it made sense that Angel's scent wouldn't have lingered. She needed something, anything of Angel so she began to search through the room. He hadn't taken many clothes with him because she convinced him that a CEO needed to dress much better than he did. She was happy at the time when she won that battle, but tonight she was thankful as she opened his closet and saw his dark shirts still hanging there. Slipping out of her clothes and pulled one of his shirts from the hanger. She always made fun of him because he always placed his clothes on a hanger then buttoned all of the buttons. Tonight she was grateful for his OCD qualities when it came to his clothes. She unbuttoned the first two buttons and slipped his shirt over her head. It was way to big for her and it came to mid-thigh on her and she had to roll up the sleeves so she could see her hands. It smelled like the laundry soap they used but not him. Walking in the bathroom she hoped like hell that he had left some of his cologne and she was rewarded when she found a bottle. She put some of it on his shirt then she crawled into his side of the bed, holding the letters that Wesley gave her. She was so angry that he thought about his death without talking to her but at the same time she was grateful that he left his words of love behind. She opened and read his letters to Catherine and Chase. Due to their age their letters were simple and to the point. He shared a special memory that he had with each of his children, told them how proud he was of them and how much he loved and always would love them. By the time she was done reading his final words to his children, her tears were falling again. She was going to tell them about the letters but hold onto them until they were old enough to appreciate them. She slowly opened her letter. She wanted to read it as much as she didn't want to read it. After some internal debate she began to read.

_My sweet Cordelia-_

"_Hello salty goodness." I believe that those were the first words that a rich, snobby, selfish Sunnydale High school cheerleader spoke to me. Who knew that the rich, snobby, selfish cheerleader would become the love of my life? You are not the same woman that I met over ten years ago because I didn't like that woman very much.. It has been such a pleasure watching you become the woman that you that you are today. You have been through much baby. I have watched you deal with so much over the past years. When Doyle gave you your visions you took them and embraced them through the fear and pain, the pain that almost killed that you that you didn't tell me about, which really pissed me off by the way._ Cordy smiled through her tears._ You had the chance to get rid of them and led a normal life, a life without me but you didn't because helping people was too important to you. So you became part demon just to continue helping the helpless. Do you have any idea how many people that your visions have helped? Me either. All I know is that is has been so many. After what happened between Buffy and I, I never wanted to have another relationship again, not friends or girlfriends. Relationships hurt too much when they end and I'm usually the one who does the hurting but you wouldn't let me go inside of myself. You wormed your way into my life first as my friend, then my best friend then as the woman that I love. Cordy, I wish I pinpoint the exact moment that I fell in love with you because if I could, I would relive it every moment of every day, but I can't. I only know when I realized that I loved you, and it was when you were being tortured with your visions by W & H. But me being the vampire that I am held it all inside because I knew that I had nothing to offer you. When you almost died on your birthday, I almost broke down and told you then but my stubbornness won out again and I kept my feelings to myself, thinking that you would be happier. Then the ballet, oh damn, I had a taste of what could be with you and I had every intention of telling you that night but Gru came back and I saw how happy you were and he could give you what I couldn't I stood back and hoped that you would be happy. Enough with the walk down memory lane, we both now how it ended, we are in love. The years that we spent together were the best of my very long life. I was no longer the unhappy brooding man that I was. Yes I admit it I liked to brood and Dammit I was good at it. You made me so happy, perfectly happy. The life that we had has been so wonderfully amazing. You deserve so much more than I could ever give you. You deserved to have a man who could walk out in the sun with you, go into the ocean with you that you love so much during the day, a man who could make love to you whenever you wanted and without the need of a potion, but none of that mattered to you did it? You sacrificed so much of a life to be with me and I'll be forever grateful that you chose to love me. Waking up next to you everyday was a dream come true. Okay, now on to the reason for this letter. If you are reading this then I have been killed. I am so sorry Cor, you know that I never wanted to leave you. I wish, more than anything that I was still with you, holding you but I'm not. You need to go on with your life baby, continue to fight the good fight. On a more personal note, our babies, the two wonderful children that we made together during an act of love, don't let them forget me. Let them know how much their daddy loved them. Dying never scared me, but the thought of my children forgetting me scares me even more. Tell them about me, about us and our love for each other. Our love, it hasn't always been smooth sailing has it? Even though you have driven me crazy on numerous occasions and don't try and deny it Cordelia, you know it's true. Think back to all of the arguments that we have had over the years. You can be so damn stubborn and I love that about you. You always think that right, even when you're not, and you are so damn tough. You have never taken any shit from nobody. Don't ever change that about yourself and teach that wonderful trait to Chase and Catherine. I want our children to be strong like their mother. I need you to do something for me. I need you to go on with your life. Find a man, a human man who will love you and be able to give you everything that I couldn't. A man that can take you out into the sun, a man that can make love to you like you deserve. Just make sure that he is good to our babies, that he will love them. I hate to think of you with another man but you are young and beautiful. You deserve to be happy even if it's not with me. I'm going to end this letter now by saying goodbye and thank you. Thank you for making my life complete. Thank you for loving me and allowing me to love you, the most amazing woman ever. I will love you forever, my wonderful wife. _

_-All my love always_

_Your husband, _

_Angel._

_P.S. I have enclosed something that you have been wanting for years. Enjoy._

Cordy pulled out the last two sheets of paper and burst into tears. Angel had drawn a family portrait, something that she had wanted since Catherine was born. Through her tears she saw him, herself, Catherine and Chase smiling back at her. The last page was a picture of the two of them, looking into each other's eyes.

"God Dammit Angel." She yelled into the empty room. She was furious that he left her alone. " I hate you." She screamed as she threw anything that belonged to him across the room. "How could you leave me alone? I can't do this on my own Angel. I can't raise our children without you. They need their father, I need you. Why did you have to be so damn stubborn and fight alone? I could have helped you. I could have saved you, you son of a bitch. You always have to be the fucking man don't you and look what it cost you. It cost you your life. You're the hero and I am a widow. I hate your for that. Can you hear me, I hate you Angel." She sobbed and collapsed on her knees, hugging her arms tightly to her chest and rocked back and forth. "I'm sorry." She sobbed. "I don't hate you Angel. I just want you back. I don't want to be alone." She stopped crying. She needed to see if her pleading worked. She stared at the door for hours, waiting for him to walk through the door, put his arms around her and tell her it had all been a very bad dream but he never came. As the sun began to rise she realized that she was really alone and he wasn't coming back. She let out an animal like scream as her world crumbled around her.

--

"Get me the hell out of here." Angel roared. "Is this your idea of a sick joke? I die saving the God Damned world for you and this is my reward. Keeping me trapped here to watch my family grieve." He spun around in the white, whatever the hell he was in, waiting for an answer, something he has had none of since he turned into a pile of dust. "Answer me Dammit." He screamed.

"VAMPIRE." A voice roared. "ENOUGH."

"No, not enough. Answer my questions."

"In time vampire."

"No not in time. NOW. I want answers now."

"Demanding will not get you what you want."

"What I want is not to be dead. What I want is to be back on earth holding my wife and children."

"You're time on earth has come to an end."

"Then end it already. I can't stand here watch my wife fall apart."

"It will end when the time is right."

"What the hell does that mean?" He received no answer. "Answer me Dammit." No response. He sighed as he looked down at Cordelia who was curled up in a fetal position, sobbing. "I'm so sorry Cor." He whispered sadly as he began to cry silently.


	63. Chapter 63

**I own none of the characters of Angel.**

The morning after learning of their father's death Catherine and Chase wondered into their parent's room and they found their mother curled on the floor.

"Mama?" Chase said hesitantly. Cordy opened her eyes and looked at her son who looked so much Angel and she burst into tears. "Mommy don't cry." Chase begged as he wrapped his tiny arms around his mother. While Chase tried to comfort his grieving mother Catherine snuck out of the room and went to the lobby where she found Lorne and Wesley.

"Good morning pudding pop." Lorne said when he saw Catherine.

"Mommy is crying on the floor Uncle Lorne." She said as crawled up on his lap. Lorne and Wesley looked at each other.

"Do you know why your mommy is crying Catherine?" Wesley asked her gently and tears filled her big brown eyes.

"Daddy's dead." She sobbed into Lorne's chest.

"I'm going to check on your mommy okay?" Wesley asked her.

"I want to go."

"Sweetie you should stay with Uncle Lorne." She shook her head and Wesley was reminded how stubborn she was.

"All right then. Let's go." Holding both of her uncle's hands they all headed upstairs. What they saw when they opened the door broke their hearts all over again. Cordy was lying on the floor in a fetal position sobbing with Chase's arms around her. Wesley gently pulled Chase away from his mother and handed him to Lorne.

"Come on kitty Catherine let's go make some breakfast." Neither child spoke a word as Lorne took them out of the room. Once the kids were gone Wesley went over to the woman on the floor.

"Cordelia." He whispered softly.

"Angel…Gone…Forever…Alone…Angel…" She sobbed. Wesley gently picked her up off of the floor and sat her on the bed.

"I know that you are hurting, we are all hurting."

"Damn right I'm hurting Wesley." She screamed. "The love of my life, the father of my children is dead. Do you know what dead means Wesley? It means that he is never coming back. It means that my children won't have a father. It means that he won't be able to walk Catherine down the aisle when she gets married. It means that Chase will never get girl advice from his father. It means that I'm all alone Wesley. I'm all alone." She was sobbing hysterically.

"Wesley?" He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face his wife who had come in during Cordy's screams.

He took his hand and led her out into the hall. "I need to get Cordelia a sedative. She is hysterical. Can you stay with her until I return? I don't want her to be alone."

"Do you think that she will hurt herself?" Fred asked in a concerned voice.

"I don't think so but she is in a dark place with her grief right now and I don't want her to be alone." Fred wrapped her arms around Wesley's neck. He felt her wet tears against his cheek.

"I can't imagine the pain she is feeling. I'm hurting because I lost a wonderful friend but she lost her husband, the man that she loved. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

"Don't think like that sweetheart. "

"It's hard not too right now."

"I know." He kissed her softly. "I need to go get the sedative." They reluctantly broke apart and Fred went into her best friends room.

"Hey Cordy." She whispered softly as she sat next to her. Cordy didn't respond and Fred wasn't even sure that she heard her because she was sobbing so hard. So she just gently rubbed her back until Wesley returned an hour later with a syringe in his hand.

"Any change?"

"The sobbing just got louder." Fred answered. Wesley silently walked over and injected the sedative into her thigh. Within a minute her sobbing subsided and her eyes were fluttering closed. Her breathing became even as she fell asleep.

She slept fitfully through the day. Every time she woke up and the memory of Angel being dusted rushed back to her and she broke down in silent sobs until she fell back asleep only to be plagued with the nightmares of losing him again. She couldn't escape it.

The next time she woke up she sensed that someone else was in the room with her. She struggled to open her swollen eyes.

"Angel?" She questioned.

"No Cordy, It's Connor." He whispered softly.

"You look so much like him." She said struggling to sit up. She was still woozy from the sedative Wesley gave her and it probably didn't help matters any that she was just plain exhausted from all of the crying she has been doing. Connor rushed over to help her. "Always wanting to help, just like your father." He sat next to her and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Catherine and Chase?" She asked

"There hanging out with the other kids. Ciara is watching them." Tears filled her eyes again.

"I'm such a horrible mom. Every time I look at them I see Angel. I just can't do it."

"It will get easier with time."

"No it won't. It won't ever be easy living without him Connor."

"It won't be easy Cordy. Death is not meant to easy but since when do you take the easy way in life?"

"Maybe for once in my life I want it to be easy."

"It's too late for easy. I wish like hell this didn't happen but it did. Dad's gone. He's a pile of dust at the bottom of the pile of rubble that used to be Wolfram & Hart. We need to move on." He wanted to throw up as those words about his father came out of his mouth but he knew that if he coddled Cordy she would never move on and she needed too. Cordy stared at him, her eyes flashing with anger.

"How dare you talk about your father like that."

"It's true Cordy."

"You make me sick. Get out Connor." She got out of bed and stormed into the bathroom slamming the door behind her. Connor slowly walked out of the room.

"Tough love didn't work. She kicked me out." He announced to the lobby.

"She needs time. She just lost the love of her life. You can't expect her to jump back into her life like nothing happened. I sure the hell couldn't do it." Ciara snapped and glared at the people around her. "So I will take care of Catherine and Chase as long as it takes for Cordy to come back." The group sat in silence as she stormed out of the room.

"Ciara's right." Gunn said simply. "Cordy needs time and we can't force her to get over his death on our timeline. Imagine if that were any of us and we just lost our spouse. Would any of you in this room bounce back if the person that you loved more than anything was taken away from saving the world? You know damn well that you wouldn't. We are her friends. We were all friends with Angel. We need to support her through this not push her to heal and move on. That's what friends are for and that's what Angel would want."

--

During their discussion regarding her state of mind Cordy managed to get a quick shower. As she was slipping on another one of Angel's shirts she had a vision.

"I thought I told you that I quit." She yelled to the ceiling as she climbed back into bed. The vision began relaying itself in her mind. "Give it up. Why the hell should I help you anymore? You are The Powers That Fucking Be. You know things before they happen and you send me a vision of that. Well where they hell was my damned vision that Angel would die? After everything that we have done for you, you let him die. If you would of sent me a vision about his death I could have saved him so this is all your fault and I'm not helping you ever again."

The vision continued for another hour. She figured that it stopped because it was too late. Not acting on the vision went against everything that she believed in and had been fight for over the years but without Angel to fight with her she had no desire to help anyone especially The Powers That Be who killed her husband.

Over the next twenty-four hours in between the visions that she kept receiving she wept and slept. She was so conflicted. She hadn't seen her children, which was a good and bad thing. She needed to see them and hold them but seeing them would hurt to much because when she looked into their eyes she would see the pain and hurt that would be reflected in her own and she would be reminded of what a failure she was as a mother and a wife. She couldn't save their father. She wanted to share her visions so they could continue to fight evil but she didn't want to fight because no one helped Angel so why should she help anyone. She wanted to be with her children, but she didn't want to be. She was so tired of crying but that's all she wanted to do. She was physically exhausted but didn't want to sleep because of the nightmares. All of this internal debate finally had caught up with her. She picked up a photo of her and Angel.

"Angel, I can't do this anymore." She sobbed into the photograph. "I want to be with you. It's the only thing that makes sense to me now."

--

"CORDY" Angel screamed. He was helpless. She was falling apart and he was afraid of what she was going to do and there wasn't a damn thing that he could do to help her. He collapsed on the ground, holding his head in his hands. "Please just send me to hell. I can't watch this anymore." He begged, hoping that something was listening.

"In time vampire." Came the voice.

"No now. "

"You have one final mission."

"I no longer work for you. Didn't you get my resignation when I was KILLED?" He roared.

"You need to save the seer."

"How can I? I'm dead."

"We will send you back to assit the seer back on her path."

"How long?"

"Two hours."

"What the hell is it with you guys and the two hour time limit? "

"Do you accept the mission?"

"Can I tell my kids goodbye?"

"The only one who will be able to see you will be the seer."

"I accept." He was blinded by a bright light and the next thing he knew he was back in his old room. He saw Cordy on their bed holding a glass of water in one hand and a bottle of pills in another. "Cordelia." He whispered. She looked at the sound of his voice.

"Angel?" She questioned. She still didn't see him so she thought that she was alone. "Great I have lost my mind. I'm hearing my dead husbands voice." She said out loud to herself. Angel walked over to the bed,

"Cor, I'm here." He placed a hand on her arm. She screamed, jumped off of the bed and ran to the corner of the room.

"No. No. This is not happening." She pointed a finger at him. "You are dead. I saw you get dusted."

"They sent me back to help you find your way back. You're in a dark place right now and I know about dark places." She took a couple of steps forward and placed a tentative hand on his cheek.

"You're really here." She whispered. He placed one of his hands over hers.

"I'm really here baby." Still holding her hand he pulled her towards him and they wrapped their arms around each other in a tight hug, She sobbed into chest and he sobbed into her. They stood there for fifteen minutes before Angel finally pulled apart. He had a time limit to stick to.

"How?" She sniffed when he pulled away

"The Powers sent me because they are worried about you."

"Those bastards." She muttered. "Are you still dead, well more dead then you were before?" He nodded and walked to the bed and picked up the bottle of pills that she left there.

"What the hell were you thinking Cordelia?" He yelled at her, waving the bottle in front of her face.

"I…" He wouldn't let her talk.

"You are a mother Dammit. You have to think about Catherine and Chase. You cannot kill yourself and leave them without any parents. I know that your heart is broken Cor, but it's not just about you anymore."

"ANGEL." She yelled trying to get his attention. He finally stopped ranting. "Look at the dammed bottle. It's aspirin dumbass. I have a headache. I wasn't going to kill myself. I would never leave Catherine and Chase alone in this world. How could you think that I would ever do that? Did you lose your mind when you died?"

"But I heard you say that you wanted to be with me, that being with me was the only thing that made sense to you."

"You've been watching me?" He nodded. "That was my broken heart talking. I love you so of course I want to be with you. Being with you and having Catherine and Chase is the only thing that ever made sense to me."

"Oh Cor."

"No let me finish. You're gone now and the only thing that I have left is Catherine and Chase. They are all I have left of you. I just don't know how to do it without you Angel. I don't want to do it without you."

"My sweet Cordelia" He whispered as he pulled her into his arms.

"When did I become this person, a woman who can't function without a man?"

"That's not who you are Cor, You are the strongest person that I know. You can function without me. You did it for years and you'll do it again. Hell baby, you had no trouble functioning without me after that Buffy incident." A small smile escaped her lips.

"That was different. You were still here." She mumbled.

"I'll always be in your heart."

"I don't want you in my heart Angel. I want you in my arms."

"I want that too, more than anything, but it's not meant to be anymore. You're grieving right now so you're feeling hopeless and helpless. It will get better in time."

"Why did this happen to you…to us…to Conner, Ciara, Catherine and Chase?"

"I've had over 250 years on this earth. My time is up."

"But I haven't had enough time with you Angel. Your children haven't had enough time with you. They need their dad."

"If we were together for another 250 years together Cordelia, it still wouldn't be enough time together but unfortunately, death is a part of life."

"You sound like you are okay with dying." She said in an accusatory tone.

"Of course I'm not okay with dying Cordelia. It is, well for lack of better term, killing me. I won't be able to walk my little girl down the aisle. I won't be able to give Chase any fatherly advice about the woman that he falls in love with." Angel said tearfully. "I won't be able to watch Connor and Ciara raise their family. I won't be touch, hold, or tell you I love you. It is tearing me up inside about everything that I will be missing, so no Cordy, I am most definitely not okay with dying."

Cordy sank to the floor in sobs, and Angel, sobbing himself, slid down next to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her holding her tightly.

"Cordelia?" Wesley heard her sobbing and he had come to her room to check on her.

"Wes? He's here."

"Who is here?"

"Angel. He came back." Wesley walked over to her and gently took her hand.

"Cordelia, Angel is dead. He isn't here." He said gently.

"I know he is dead, but The Powers sent him back. He is sitting right here beside me."

"Cor, he can't see me. You are the only one who can." Wesley watched as Cordy talked to the empty space next to her.

"So I'm the only one that can see you?" She asked and he nodded. "What the hell are the powers trying to do? Make me look insane?"

"Get rid of him Cor. We don't have much time left."

"How much time Angel?"

"Not much."

"You're right Wesley. Angel is dead. I guess my grief is making me see things."

"Cordelia?"

"Wes, I just need to be alone." He just continued to look at her. "Really I'm fine. I just need to be alone." Wesley reluctantly left the room.

"Now, about you avoiding your visions." Angel said when they were alone again.

"I'm so angry at those damn powers. I have worked so hard for them. We have done everything that they ever asked of us. They could have sent me the vision of your death. I could have saved you. Why did they let you die? It's their fault that you are dead." She shouted.

"Keep your voice down or Wesley will come back in here. Cordy it wasn't their fault. You can't blame them."

"It was my fault." She whispered with defeat.

"No sweetheart, it wasn't. You couldn't have stopped it. As much as you want to blame someone you can't because there is no one to blame."

"I don't want to fight anymore Angel."

"You don't have to fight right now if you don't want to but don't ignore your visions Cordelia."

"How can I not ignore my visions and not fight?"

"When you get a vision tell someone about it and let them fight. If you ignore these visions then all the good that we have done will have been for nothing."

"Angel…I let innocent people die because I was so angry." She sobbed into his chest. "I am a horrible person."

"You were grieving and you made a mistake. Hell, I've made plenty of those. Just don't let it happen again." She nodded. "Promise me that you will keep fighting, even if it's just by sharing your visions."

"I promise."

"One more promise I need from you."

"What?"

"Move on with your life. Be happy again. Fall in love. Like I told you in my letter, I want you to be happy again, even if it's not with me. Our kids need a father."

"They have a father."

"A dead one Cordy. They…you deserve to have a happy life. You deserve to be loved. You deserve to be happy. I want you to be happy."

"No I won't promise you that."

"Please you have too. I will be able to rest easy in hell knowing that you will be happy."

"You're going to hell?"

"Of course I am Cordy. I'm a vampire. I very well can't get into heaven. I deserve to go to hell. "

"No, you are a good man."

"Maybe, but I'm still a vampire, a demon. Demons aren't in heaven. Now quit changing the subject Cordelia and make me that promise."

"I don't want to."

"Please…for me. I want…I need you to be happy again Cor. " He begged with tears streaming down his face. Cordy slowly nodded. "Say it. I need to hear you say it."

"I promise."

"You promise what?"

"Don't make me say it Angel." She begged tearfully. He just stared at her until she spoke again. "I promise to be happy again." He dark brown eyes stared intently into hers, waiting for more. "I promise to fall in love again." She finally added sobbing.

"Now that you said it out loud you have to follow through."

"I know."

"Cor, my time is almost up. I only have a few minutes left."

"Don't leave me again."

"I love you so damn much Cordelia. I love you more than I ever thought possible. You have made me so happy."

" I love you too Angel." He cupped her face in his hands, leaned forward and kissed her gently. No tongues or slobber, just a slow, tender open mouth kiss that was full of the love that they felt for each other. Suddenly he was gone and she was alone. She lifted her fingers to her still tingling lips.

"Okay Angel, I won't let you down. Thank you for saving me." She whispered tearfully into the empty room.

--

"Your welcome sweetheart." Angel whispered from above. He happily watched as she went to their children and put them in bed with her. He knew without a doubt that she would be okay. She was a survivor. She was after all, Cordelia Chase Angel.

"Good work vampire." Came that annoying voice again.

"Now can we please can get started with my eternal damnation?"

"Would you like a few more minutes to watch your family?"

"No, I'm done. I've seen all I want to see. It hurts too much to see them."

"As you wish vampire."

"I love you Cordy." He said as he was sent hurtling into hell.


	64. Chapter 64

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

The next morning Cordy woke up and got dressed for the first time in two days and she took her children to school. It was bittersweet. Angel always tried to ride with them in the mornings and all three of them felt his loss. After lots of kisses and hugs, Cordelia finally let her children go into the building, with tears running down her face. Just as Chase got to the entrance, he turned around and ran back to his mother, who quickly picked him.

"Mama…are you going to die like daddy?"

"Oh baby boy, I'm not going to die."

"Daddy did." He sobbed into her shoulder.

"Yes he did little man, but I'm not going to die. Okay?" He nodded. "You're going to be stuck with mommy for a very long time."

"I miss him."

"I do too baby. Do you want to go to school today or come home with mommy?"

"I want to stay with you." Cordy carried him into the office and vaguely explained that Chase's father passed away and she would be keeping him home today. The secretary was very understanding and told her to keep him home as long as he needed. Before leaving she stopped by Catherine's classroom and spoke with her teacher. Cordy decided to give Catherine the option of coming home but she wanted to stay at school with her friends. Her teacher promised to call if there were any problems.

Everyone was very surprised when Cordy and Chase walked into the lobby. Cordy had left them a note telling them that she had taken the kids to school so they were surprised when she walked into the lobby with Chase.

"He wasn't ready yet." She said simply as she set him up at Angel's desk with a coloring book and crayons. She then asked for all of them to meet her in the waiting area so she could keep an eye on Chase.

"Thank you all so much for these past couple of days."

"Cordy, we are your friends. That's our job."

"You guys are my best friends, my family. I wouldn't have made it through without you. Now, that being said remember whatever comes out of my mouth next, please know that I have not lost my mind." They looked at her expentantly. "Angel came to me last night."

"Cordelia…"

"He's gone."

"That's your grief talking."

"He dead sweetie."

"You must have been dreaming,"

"Guys, please listen to me." They all stopped talking. "You all know what kind of world we live in, a world with demons, monsters and ghosts. The Powers sent Doyle back for Ciara's wedding so why is it so impossible to believe that they would send Angel back to me?"

"Why would they Cordelia?" Connor asked.

"Because I got three visions yesterday and I ignored them."

"You ignored your visions plum pie?" Lorne asked and she nodded. "Why?"

"I was hurt and angry."

"Cordy, you shouldn't have done that." Fred said

"I know that now. When Angel died, I got so lost so The Powers sent him to me one last time so he could help me find my way back."

"So he was really there when I came to check on you?" Wesley asked

'Yes he was but I was the only one who could see him." Cordy allowed her friends to process this information before continuing. "He showed me that just because he was gone didn't mean that I can't fight anymore."

"So are you going to continue to fight?" Ciara asked

"In my own way. Right now my main concern is my children. They're young and they lost their father and they need me. If I get a vision then I will share it with you guys but I'm sorry, I can't go out there right now, not without him."

"I think that I speak for all of us when I say whatever you need is fine with all of us." Fred said and everyone agreed.

"Thank you all so much for your support." They all exchanged hugs. "Now let's talk business. The money that Angel and I took from Wolfram & Hart has been placed into accounts for all of you. All of you have been very well compensated for your employment. It's up to all of you now if you want to keep the agency open since Angel is gone."

"I want to keep it open." Connor said. "I want to keep fighting dad's mission."

"I think we all do." Gunn said and everyone nodded.

"Mama?" Came Chase's voice.

"I need to be with Chase right now, I'll let you know if I get a vision." She said as headed into Angel's office.

"Hey Chase."

"Look mama, I made a picture for daddy." Tears filled Cordy's eyes.

"It's beautiful honey."

"Can daddy see it from heaven?" The tears started falling. There was no way that she telling her five year old son that his father was in hell.

"As long as we hang it on the fridge then he will be able to see it." Chase's eyes shined with happiness. "Hey bud, let's go to the park? What do you say?"

"Yeah mama, let's go the park." Cordy smiled. She took her son's hand and walked into the bright sunlight.

--

Things slowly got better but without Angel, life would never be perfect. Ciara and Connor were following Angel's farewell instructions and she was pregnant again. It was bittersweet because they felt guilty for being so happy. Catherine and Chase were adjusting in their own way. Catherine had slowly become sullen. She was picking fights with her mother and brother and she hardly ever smiled. Meanwhile Chase had attached himself to his mother's hip. It was as if he was afraid that he was going to lose her as well. Getting him back to school was a real chore. The first day that she sent him back he screamed, cried and attached his arms around her neck, which with his father's strength that he inherited, made it very difficult to extract him from her neck. Cordy stood outside of his classroom door, that first day, sobbing until he calmed down. She struggled to be brave for her children and she only let her tears fall at night when she was alone in the king sized bed that she and Angel had shared.

She continued to work at the hotel, answering the phones, assisting Wesley with research and sharing her visions, but her heart wasn't in it anymore. Everything she looked at in the hotel reminded her of Angel and she knew that her children felt the same way. After a lot of soul searching she decided to leave Angel Investigations and the hotel for a fresh start. It practically broke her heart when she told Ciara and Connor.

"So what's going on Cordy?" Connor asked

"I'm leaving." Ciara's eyes filled with tears and Connor's mouth dropped open.

"I don't understand." Ciara said. Cordy reached over and took her hand.

"Sweetheart, I can't stay here anymore. It's too hard. This place is so full of memories and it's hurts too much."

"What about the agency?" Connor asked

"My heart isn't in it anymore Connor. I will still call if I have a vision."

"What will you do?" Ciara asked

"I still have the money from Wolfram and Hart so for awhile I'm going to do nothing except spend time with my babies and enjoy life,"

"What about Catherine and Chase? Will we still see them?" Connor asked with tears in his eyes.

"Oh Connor, of course you will. Just because we are leaving that doesn't change the fact that you are their brother and sister. I would never take them away from you. And besides, you are a link to their father…your father Connor. I want you to share stories with them as only a sibling can do. I need you in their and in my life, both of you." She stood up and pulled both of them into her arms and hugged them tightly. "And besides I can't my kids away from their niece or nephew both old and new." They all laughed.

"Speaking of new babies we wanted to run a couple of names by you." Ciara said nervously

"Tell me."

"If it's another boy we want to name him Liam." Connor said proudly.

"And if it's a girl we want to name her Angela. We want to name our baby after his or her grandfather and Angela was the closest that we could come up with." Ciara said tearfully. "Connor is concerned that Angela Angel sounds like a stripper name." Cordy burst out laughing.

"I might have to agree with him."

"Well so do I but I really want the name Angela so we have decided to call her Angela Doyle, if it's a girl."

"It's perfect Ciara. Absolutley perfect. Angel would love it."

--

Cordy bought another house on the beach. She couldn't go back to the old one because it, like the hotel, carried too many painful memories, like the last night that had spent together there. Using her Wolfram & Hart money she purchased a nice house on the ocean. It had a bedroom for each of them plus an extra room so their cousins could stay the night whenever they wanted, which was often. The kids seemed to like it, especially having their own rooms. She bought all new furniture because the old stuff was too painful to have around. She kept all of his drawings and some of his shirts with the hopes that maybe Chase would want them when he got older and she kept some for herself to sleep in. Her friends from Angel Investigations came over for a Friday night dinner every week to catch up and just spend time together remembering the good times. Whenever she got a vision she did as she promised and called Wesley or Fred, so in her own small way she was still helping the helpless.

After two months of just enjoying her life with her children, she became restless. Cordelia was never the kind of woman who was content just sitting around. She loved being with her children, but she needed to do something with her life besides walking on the beach, waiting for her children to come home from school. Being alone gave her too much time with her thoughts of Angel so she decided to give acting another go round. She knew she was good, after all she convinced her best friends that she hated her husband, so how hard could it be to do it for real? To her surprise she was offered the first part that she auditioned for. It was a small role on a soap opera. She wanted something small so that she would still be able to be home with her children in the evenings and this soap opera would offer her exactly that.

--

On the one year anniversiy of Angel's death, all of the friends got together to celebrate the opening of Lorne's club, again. and to have a night to remember Angel.

"Pumpkin Muffin, you made it." Lorne greeted as soon as she entered.

"Caritos again Lorne? Aren't you testing faith?" She said laughing.

"It really will be a sanctuary now. The spell is more powerful now. Nothing can roll in from the street and firebomb us."

"Good to know. Lorne, you did a wonderful job."

"Thank you sugar plum. Come on, the gang is over here." He took her hand and led her to the table that held all of her friends.

"The Diva has arrived and now the party can begin." Said Gunn with a smirk on his face and Cordy flicked him off.

"As much as I hate to admit it Cordelia, we all have become addicted to your soap opera." Wesley said and Cordy burst out laughing.

"No really, everyday at two o'clock we are all piled in the office watching it." Fred confirmed. "Of course we started watching it because you were on it, but it has become very addicting."

"Yeah, who is your daddy?" Ciara asked with a grin.

"I have no idea yet. I don't even think the writers know." A demon waiter brought the table a tray of shots, compliments of Lorne.

"To new beginnings" Fred said as she held up her glass.

"To friends." Gunn said

"To Family." Connor said

"To Angel." Cordy added softly.

They all clinked their glasses together and drank. They spent the next couple of hours, drinking, laughing, talking and remembering their friend, father, and husband. Tears were shed, but they were happy tears.

"Cordy is that you?" Came a deep male voice. Everyone stopped talking and looked at the visitor to their table.

"Hey Jacob, I must admit that I am very surprised to see you here." Cordy said with a smile.

"Because it's a demon bar?" Cordy nodded. "I've lived in LA my whole life. I know all about demons and vampires."

"Well let me introduce you to my family who seem to have become quite rude." She said gesturing to the dropped jaws around her. "This is the owner of this joint Lorne, this is Fred, Wesley, Gunn, Justine, Connor and Ciara. Guys, this is Jacob Miller. He works with me."

"You're Steven on the show." Fred said

"Yep, that's me."

"He is an ass." Justine commented.

"And Jacob isn't." Cordy said. "Would you like to join us?" He agreed and pulled a chair up next to Cordy.

"Interesting family you have here Cordy."

"They are my family by choice. They are really my best friends."

"Oh God, I think that I'm going to need more to drink with the way that guy sounds." Connor said and everyone laughed. The current singer was really horrible.

"Well it's not as bad as the first time that…" Wesley didn't finish his sentence. They all knew what he was trying to say, but Cordy finished it for him.

"Nothing will ever be as bad as when Angel sang." She said laughing and everyone joined with her. It was nice to see her smile when she spoke of Angel instead of cry.

"Who is Angel?" Jacob asked.

"My husband." She said softly.

"I had no idea that you were married Cordy. I apologize if I'm intruding."

"You're not intruding and I'm not married anymore. Angel is dead."

"Open mouth, insert foot. I just keep getting it wrong."

"You didn't know."

"So your last name…Angel? I'm confused." Her friends watched her with concern, but she smiled to let them know that she was okay so they continued their conversation while Cordy and Jacob had their own. It was the first time she had really talked about Angel with someone who didn't know him.

"Angel was a vampire." Jacob's jaw dropped.

"Aren't they evil? How can you be married to one and still be alive?"

"He was evil at one point but he was given a soul which made him a good man. His soul made him feel guilt over everything he had ever done. He fought evil." She said proudly.

"Wow. Didn't you tell me that you have kids?" She nodded. "With the vampire?" Again she nodded her confirmation. "How? They can't have kids either."

"Angel was special and together we worked for The Powers That Be and they made it possible for us to have Catherine and Chase. Connor over there is also Angel's son with a vampire."

"Wow." He said simply.

"I know that it's a lot to take in at once, but be forewarned, if you tell anyone at work I will have to kill you. I am part demon."

"Part demon?" He stuttered

"Yep. The Powers That Be send me visions of people that are in trouble. They were very painful and frankly, they were killing me but I refused to give them up, so the powers made me part demon so I could continue to get the visions and stay alive."

"Wow." He repeated

"I meant what I said, you can't tell anyone at work." She said firmly.

"You have my word."

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

"So tell me about Catherine and Chase." He requested and they spent the evening talking about her kids and their job.

An hour later everyone was getting ready to leave.

"Cordy we are heading out." Fred interrupted and Cordy immediately jumped out of her seat and hugged her.

"I'm so sorry. We were supposed to hang out tonight and I have totally ignored you guys." She said

"Don't worry about it. It was nice to see you smiling and having fun again." Cordy smiled at her friend. "You know, he is pretty cute."

"Fred!" Cordy gasped.

"Well he is."

"Yeah, he his."

"Do you think…maybe?"

"It's too soon to even think about dating."

"Honey, it's only too soon if you're not ready. There is no time line. Besides Angel wanted you too move on."

"I don't think I'm ready. I don't know if I'll ever be ready to love someone like I love Angel."

"You will never love anyone like you love Angel. That is a one of a kind love, but our hearts have lots of room for all kinds of love." Fred told her.

"Thanks Fred. I'll keep that in mind." They hugged again.

"Keep me posted." Soon everyone hugged and went their separate ways, leaving Cordy and Jacob alone.

"I'm so sorry that I monopolized your time tonight." He apoligezed

"Don't be. It's fine."

"I had a really nice time tonight." He said softly as he took her hand.

"I did too."

"I would like to see you again."

"You'll see me at work." She said nervously.

"That's not what I mean."

"I know."

"So what do you say?" She didn't answer right away. Instead she remembered Angel's words to her the last time they spoke. He wanted her to move on with her life. She couldn't grieve forever.

"I would like that." She said softly.

--

"What the hell?" Angel yelled. One second he was in hell and the next second he was standing in the middle of the endless white room, where he spent the first few days after his death.

"Vampire." Came the annoying voice.

"What now? Can't I atone in peace?" He snapped

"Your family is in trouble." Angel was furious. He didn't want to know about things that he could do nothing about.

"Why are you telling me? Is this another form of torment? Allow me to stand back helpless while they need me?"

"They need your help."

"I can't help them. I'M DEAD." He roared.

"We can send you back to save them." Angel felt a glimmer of hope, but it was quickly replaced by sadness because he knew that he couldn't stay and it would destroy them all.

"What's going on?"

"The Seer is involved with a man." Even though that's what he wanted for her, it hurt him to hear the actually words.

"That's not bad."

"Your children are destined to become pivitol figures in the fight against evil and this man is going to kill your children."

"NOOOOOOO."

"Enough vampire."

"Can't you send her a vision?" He asked despertley.

"We have tried but this demon has put a spell on her, blocking all visions from us regarding him."

"What can I do to save my family?"

"We want to send you back."

"Then do it." He demanded.

"It cannot be done. You were killed. We cannot reinstate your life as it was."

"Then why the hell are you telling me this if there isn't a damn thing that I can do?"

"You need to listen vampire. We said your life as it was."

"Speak English please."

"If Angelus was no longer a part of you then you can return because your life would not be as it once was."

"Then do it already."

"You must do this."

"I can't get rid of him."

"We can help with that problem."

"I'm listening."

"We can release Angelus."

"And then what happens?"

"If Angelus is released, you must destroy him. If that is accomplished you will be sent back to earth with a permanent soul. You will be able to achieve perfect happiness and keep your soul."

"And if he destroys me?"

"Then it's over. Your children will die and Angelus will be sent to hell." Angel knew he had no choice. He did not want his children dying. He had to save them.

"I'll do it. How long have I been gone?"

"One year." It felt like much longer to him and he knew that right now, at this point he could not beat Angelus.

"I need to train if I have any hope in defeating Angelus. Do I have time?"

"We will send you to a different hell dimension to train with demons for six months."

"That should work."

"It shall be done." And Angel was sent to begin his training.


	65. Chapter 65

** I own none of the Characters of Angel**

A week after Cordy's first date with Jacob she was back at Caritos with her friends. The only one who knew about the date was Fred who promised to keep it quiet until she knew how she felt about it.

"Looks like we need some refills, Connor will you help me?" Cordy asked. Connor quickly agreed and he and Cordy walked to the bar. After they placed their orders, Cordy turned to look at her stepson who was just a few years younger then she was.

"Connor, there is something that I need to tell you."

"What's up Cordy?"

"I went on a date last week." She whispered nervously.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"It was weird."

"But did you enjoy it?"

"I did." She said slowly. Connor pulled Cordy into his arms and hugged her tightly.

"I'm happy for you."

"Really? You don't think that I am betraying your father?"

"For you to betray dad then you wouldn't be moving on. This is what he wanted."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet Cor."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You won't get my approval until he sings for Lorne."

"Is that really necessary? I consider myself a good judge of character.'

"You are but when it comes to you and your kids we can never be too careful."

"Fine." She relented as they headed back to their table with drinks.

An hour later Jacob was on stage casting a spell on everyone in the room with his wonderful singing voice. Actually he only had cast a spell on Lorne so he would be unable to pickup any of his evil intentions regarding the death of Catherine and Chase.

"Cordy, you have a winner here." Lorne said

"Not evil?" The ever-protective Connor asked

"No evil brewing in that oven."

"Satisfied?" Cordy asked Connor who grinned and nodded.

Jacob finished his song and joined them back at the table. "Well, did I pass?" He asked.

"You passed and you now have my blessing to date my wonderful step-mother." Connor said as he held out his hand. Once Jacob took it Connor put a lot of pressure on his hand, causing Jacob to wince. Connor leaned forward and whispered in a very low voice. "If you break her heart I will rip yours out."

"I hear you man." Jacob said

"CONNOR!" Cordy gasped

"It's fine." Jacob said shaking his hand trying to get the feeling back in his hand.

"I'm so sorry Jacob." Cordy said.

"Really Cordy, its fine. You're an amazing woman and your family only wants what is best for you. I'd be worried if they didn't threaten me."

--

The first introduction of Jacob to Catherine and Chase went well despite Cordy's earlier apprehension. She introduced Jacob as "mommy's special friend" and the kids just rolled with it, like it was any other day. After dinner they took the kids to the park and Jacob pushed them on the swings. When the kids were all "parked" out they ended the evening with a trip to the ice cream stand. The kids had fun and that was most important to Cordy but a bit of sadness tugged at her heart because she knew how much Angel would have enjoyed this evening with the kids.

"I had fun tonight." She whispered as she curled up next to him on the couch next to him. She had just gotten the kids settled in bed.

"So did I. Do you think that Catherine and Chase liked me?"

"It doesn't take much. They are six and eight, you bought them ice cream, they like you."

"Does their mother like me?" He asked with a grin.

"Their mother definitely likes you." She said with a grin as his mouth closed over hers. He gently pushed her back on the couch and they continued to kiss. His hand slowly worked its way under her shirt. He felt her tense as she did every time when they got to this point. He wanted so much more and she hadn't given it to him yet.

"Cordy…"He groaned.

"I'm sorry."

"Babe, we have been together for almost six months already. I want to make love to you. I know that you loved your husband but he's gone and I'm here. You said after I met your kids and that happened tonight."

"You're right Jacob and I'm ready."

"You are?"

"Yes, but I can't not while my children are home."

"Oh shit babe, I didn't think about that."

"The kids are staying the night at Connor's on Saturday night so I happen to have that night free."

"Now you're talking." He said as his lips crashed on top of hers and his hand found her breast through her bra.

"Now let's not get to ahead of ourselves.' She said between kisses

"Just practicing." He said and they laughed and continued their make out session.

The following Saturday night Cordy and Jacob made love for the first time. She tried her hardest to focus on the man that was with her but she couldn't stop her mind from wondering back to Angel. She had had sex before Angel but that's all it was sex. The only man who ever made love to her was Angel and right now it was sex with Jacob. Granted it was good sex, but it was sex nonetheless. The second and third time that they made love she focused more on Jacob and she enjoyed herself much more. She just hoped that he didn't pick up in her wondering thoughts.

"Thank you Cordy. That was amazing." Jacob whispered as he swung an arm around her.

"You weren't so bad yourself." She said with a smile. Jacob dropped a quick kiss on her shoulder and fell right asleep. Cordy on the other hand stayed up for most of the night shedding silent tears. She had finally moved on with her life. It was a bittersweet moment.

--

Angel had been fighting and kicking demon and monster ass for close to six months, not that he had any knowledge of time. One day just ran into the next in the hell dimension that he was training in. The only reason that he knew it had been six months was because he was plucked rather roughly out of the hell dimension and placed back into the endless white room.

"Vampire." Came the annoying voice

"Yeah it's me but obviously you know that since you brought me here."

"Was your training productive?"

"I feel it was."

"Very well." A glass of blood magically appeared in his hand.

"What is this?"

"You need to eat and rest so you will be fully prepared to fight."

"If…when I kill Angelus and I am sent back to earth will I be taken away after I save my children?"

"No. Once your mission is completed you will remain on earth until such time that you are killed again by sunlight, decapitation or a stake through the heart."

"So I won't be human?"

"No. You signed your humanity over with your own blood. That cannot be undone. You will return to earth as a vampire with a permanent soul."

"Nothing I do will take away my soul?"

"Nothing. Now drink and begin to prepare for Angelus. He will be here soon."

"Wait, one more question." Angel begged

"What is it vampire?"

"My children…are they okay?"

"For the time being yes."

"Thank you." He said as he drank his glass of blood hungrily. He knew that he would need all of the nutrition for his upcoming fight.

--

"How is it going?" Flexen asked

"I've come across a slight snag."

"SNAG?"

"She won't leave me alone with the brats." Jacob said

"Make her."

"How? I've done everything to be alone with them but I've not succeed."

"They must die by the next full moon."

"I know that."

"If she won't let you be alone with them then it's time to force her hand."

"Yes sir. I understand." Jacob said as Flexen walked away and he began to formulate a plan.

--

Two days later Angel had just finished a cup of warm blood when a sword and wooden stake appeared in front of him.

"I guess this is it." He mumbled as he stood to his feet. Suddenly he experienced a sharp agonizing pain as Angelus was ripped out of his body and placed in front of him. He also was armed with a sword and a stake.

"Well, well, well isn't this special?" Angelus smirked

"Yeah real damn special." Angel replied.

"Do you really think that you can defeat me, you overgrown mama's boy?"

"I'm not only going to defeat you, I'm going to kill you." Angelus let out his loud, evil, sadistic laugh.

"Remember all of the good times we had Angel boy? The torturing, the screaming, and the wonderful meals we ate. Do you really want to give that up?" Angelus asked as both men began swinging their swords.

"I've already given it up asshole. It's you that can't get your ass out of the past and into the present." Tossing the sword aside Angel punched Angelus is the face and sent him flying across the room.

"The present is so BORING." Angelus jumped back up and kicked Angel across the room. "Oh let's fight evil. How much fun is that? The goodness that you have associated yourself with makes me sick." More punches thrown at Angel.

"The evil that you did makes me sick." Angel spat as he kicked Angelus in the face.

"There is still a part of you that misses the smell of fear that you caused." Angelus replied spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"The only part of me that misses it is you." Angelus knocked Angel on his back but he quickly jumped back to his feet.

"Damn right I miss it Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes. That was the life. Now all you care about is helping the damned helpless. Helpless people deserve to be dinner."

"That's right you dumb son of a bitch. That is all that I care about because those are the people that need me." Angel head-butted Angelus and they both staggered backwards.

"God Dammit you priss." Angelus mumbled as he rubbed his head in pain.

"What the big bad Angelus can't take the pain?"

"I'll show you pain." He growled as he attacked Angel.

Angel and Angelus fought for hours. Each was equally exhausted but they both refused to give up. They both had something to fight for. Even though he would be sent back to hell if he defeated Angel, Angelus was fighting just to keep Angel from saving the ones he loves, especially those brats he called kids. It would give him eternal pleasure if Angel's family suffered and died. Angel was fighting for his family and for the chance to go back to earth and live a relatively normal life, without the fear of turning evil.

"Give it up old man." Angelus sneered as Angel picked him up off of the floor.

"I'm done when you are dead." Angel said as he sent Angelus across the room.

"You are a bad as your mama's boy son. He is a pathetic excuse for a boy. His sister kicked his ass. Now that girl, she's got some spunk. The terror that we could have accomplished together, it would have been historical." Angel saw red. He was ready to end this. He tackled Angelus to the ground, and after ten minutes of wrestling, he had him pinned.

"You sorry son of a bitch. Don't you dare talk about my children." Angel growled.

"What are you going to do about it if I do?" Angelus sneered and he kicked Angel in the groin.

"Ahhhhh." Angel yelled as he doubled over in pain. Angelus wasted no time and he had Angel pinned beneath him.

"It's over soul boy." The stake was poised above Angel's heart. "You're brats will be joining me in hell very soon. Good times will be had." Angelus said with an evil smile. He slowly lowered the stake, savoring every minute of his victory. The stake had just touched Angel's skin above his heart when Angelus felt Angel grab his hand.

"NOT. HAPPENING." Angel grunted as he twisted the hand holding the stake until it snapped.

"Arghhhh." Screamed Angelus.

"Now, it's really over. Go to hell." Angel said as he plunged the stake into Angelus's heart. The second before he turned to dust, Angel swore he saw a look of fear pass through his dark evil eyes.

"Very good Vampire." The voice said as Angel collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"When can I go home?" He asked

"Very soon. You must recover from your battle with Angelus."

"I need to save them." He said trying to stand but his legs gave out on him.

"You are in no condition to fight for them." He knew that they were right. He had taken the worst beating of his life and he had lost count of how many stab wounds he had.

"What do I need to know to save them?"

"The demon who is after your children is Flexen. He has hired a Vactin Demon, who is masquerading as Jacob, The Seer's boyfriend." Angel cringed at the thought of his Cordy with another man. "For the Flexen's plan to work Jacob must kill them by the rise of the full moon. You will be given a potion that The Seer must drink, which will allow us to send a vision of Jacob's location so you can kill him. After that is done you must destroy the mastermind, The Flexen. Your children will not be safe until then."

"How do I kill Jacob?"

"Decapitation or mortal wound to the heart."

"And the Flexen?"

"Your Wesley can assist you with that. Now relax and heal vampire. You will be returned to your family soon." A glass of blood appeared in his hand again. He drank it greedily and lay back on the ground and waited to heal and be sent home.

--

"Hi. My name is Jacob Brown and I am here to pick up Catherine and Chase Angel for their mother." Jacob said to the school secretary. She glanced at the clock before replying.

"School is still session."

"I know. They have a doctor's appointment and their mother got held up at work. She wrote this note and said that you can her with any questions." Jacob handed over the forged note. The secretary read it and dialed the number that he put on there. As soon as the phone would ring the spell would be cast. She would be speaking with his boss but thinking that she was talking to Cordy.

"Okay, let me go pull the children out of class." Jacob smiled his plan was coming together perfectly.

Fifteen minutes later, Catherine and Chase were seated in his car on the way to their death.

"Where are we going?" Catherine asked.

"I have a surprise planned for you guys."

"Is mommy going to be there?" Chase asked.

"No, it's just us big guy."

"What is the surprise Jacob?"

"It's a surprise Catherine. You will just have to wait."

"I want to go home and get mommy."

"No Chase, this surprise is not for mommies. Just for you guys."

"But…"

"Just shut up okay?" He yelled. He really had no patience for kids. Catherine and Chase looked at each as they began to cry. "Knock those tears off or I'll tape your mouths closed. Understand?" They tearfully nodded. When they arrived at their destination he pulled them roughly from the car and tied them up in a dark room.

"Now stay put. You can yell or cry if you want, but no one will hear you. If you try to get out I'll make your mommy cry. Do you understand me?" Again they nodded. He pat them on their heads and walked out of the room.

"I want mommy." Chase cried as soon as the door shut.

"Me too." Catherine sniffed.

"I'm scared Catherine."

"We have to be brave."

"I want mommy." He said as he burst into tears. Catherine tried her best to comfort her brother but it wasn't working. They were both scared.

"Chase stop crying. I have an idea." His tears stopped and he looked at his big sister. "We can hit him. Mommy said that we can hit or kick any bad things that try to get us so when Jacob comes back, we can hit him." A slow smile crossed Chase's face. He loved hitting.

"I wanna kick him."

"Okay Chase we will kick him. Let's pretend that we are as strong as daddy and Connor and when Jacob comes back in we will kick him. Okay Chase?"

"Okay Catherine." He whispered. He would do whatever his big sister said.

"Now let me show you how to do it." She laid on her back showed Chase how to kick Jacob when he came back in the room. "Can you do that?" Chase grinned and nodded.

"Catherine are we going to get dead like daddy?" He asked softly

"No Chase, I won't let us die."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

--

"CONNOR. WESLEY. GUNN." Cordy screamed as she walked into the hotel. Everyone came rushing out as soon as they heard Cordy's panicked scream.

"Cordelia…what's wrong?" Wesley asked

"He took them. They're gone." She sobbed

"Who took who?" Gunn asked.

"Where are Catherine and Chase?" Connor asked

"That's what I have been trying to tell you. He took them." She yelled

"Who took them?" Wesley asked gently.

"JACOB." She screamed. "He took my babies."

"Maybe it was a misunderstanding." Gunn said

"Tell us what happened." Fred probed softly

"They never came out of the school when I went to pick them up. I went inside and the secretary showed me a note that I didn't write allowing Jacob to pick them up for a doctor's appointment. They don't have a doctor's appointment. She said that she talked to me on the phone and I gave her verbal permission. I never talked to her. I NEVER TALKED TO HER." She screamed.

"Have you tried his cell phone…house phone?" Justine asked

"I'm not an idiot. Of course I tried to call. He kidnapped my babies. He is not going to answer the God Damned phone." She snapped.

"Okay, we need to start going through our enemies. Focus in particular an Angel's enemies, someone that would want to hurt his children because he hurt them." Wesley instructed

"Dad."

"Yes Connor we are aware that Angel is your dad." Wes said

"No…Dad." He said pointing. All heads turned to where Connor was pointing and they received the shock of their life when they saw Angel standing in front of them.

"Oh my God." Cordy whispered. She felt the darkness overtake her and she slid to the floor.


	66. Chapter 66

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

Angel was sitting on the floor of the endless white room nursing a cup of blood when he heard the annoying voice again.

"Vampire, have your wounds healed?" Angel jumped to his feet.

"Yes, I am fine." A bottle of potion appeared in his hand.

"You must have The Seer drink this so she can receive our vision regarding your children."

"I understand."

"Vampire, use your second chance on earth wisely, you won't get another one."

"I understand." Suddenly he was standing back in the lobby of The Hyperion. He saw his friends standing in his office with their backs to him. He heard Cordy screaming about Catherine and Chase. As if sensing he was there Connor turned his head and looked right at Angel.

"Dad" He whispered

"Yes Connor, we are aware that Angel is your father." Wesley said.

"No…dad." He said pointing. All heads turned and eyes widened when they saw him standing there.

"Oh my God." Cordy whispered. Angel watched as her face paled and her eyes rolled back into her head. As he had done many times in the past he rushed up behind her and caught her as she fell. He gently slid to the floor, cradling in her in his arms.

"What?…How?…Why?" Connor stuttered

"The Powers sent me back to save Catherine and Chase. Cor…come on wake up." He said softy as he ran a hand over her cheek.

"So you know what's going on?" Wesley asked

"Yeah I know. Come on sweetheart, wake up." Her eyes began to flutter. "That's my girl. Come on open those beautiful brown eyes." Her eyes opened and as soon as she was able to focus she jumped up and ran across the room.

"No." She said pointing her finger at him. "You're dead."

"Not anymore. I'm back."

"Does anyone else see him or am I losing my mind?"

"No Cordy, he is really here." Fred said

"I don't understand."

"The Powers sent me back to help save Catherine and Chase." A look of horror crossed her face.

"He stole my babies and it's all your fault." She screamed at him. "You told me to move on with my life and I did and that bastard stole them."

"Cordy you need to drink this potion."

"Why should I listen to you? The last time I listened to you my children got kidnapped. You cannot just come back from the dead ordering…"

"CORDELIA." He yelled and she clamped her mouth shut. "You have to drink the potion so The Powers can send you a vision of where Catherine and Chase are. So just drink the damn potion and yell at me later. We don't have much time left."

"What do you mean that we don't have much time left?"

"He is planning on killing them when the move rises." She popped the top of the potion and quickly drank it.

"I know where they are at." She said seconds later after she received her vision.

"Okay, Wesley I need information on a Flexen Demon. Jacob is not working alone. He is just the flunky. The Flexen is the one who is calling the shots and I need to know how to kill him."

"You've got it Angel. I've heard of The Flexen. He is a nasty demon. I'm not familiar with the way to kill him but I will find out. "

"Thanks Wes. I'm going to kill some demons." He said as he went and grabbed a sword.

"Dad, I'm coming with you. I told him that if he broke her heart I would rip his out and I intend to keep my promise." Angel nodded. "I'm sorry dad. I should have protected them." Connor said tearfully. Angel turned to face Connor, placing both hands on his shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Connor, this is not your fault. I know that you did everything you could to protect them." Connor nodded. "Now let's go get them."

"I'm coming with you." Before Angel could respond she continued. " This is all my fault. I brought this asshole into their lives so I am going to take him out of their lives so don't even think about arguing with me."

"I wouldn't dream about it. Let's go."

"I'll call you when I know how to kill The Flexen." Wesley said as they walked out of the lobby.

The three of them drove in silence for most of the ride. Connor was driving and Angel and Cordy were in the backseat, holding hands.

"Are you back for good or are you leaving as soon as we have Catherine and Chase because if that's the case I don't think I can handle losing you again and the kids…they will be so confused." Cordy asked as she gently ran her finger up and down his jaw.

"I'm here to stay."

"How?"

"I'll explain it later. Right now let's just get Catherine and Chase back home." Tears filled her eyes.

"What if we are too late? What if he…what if they are…" Her tears fell. "I can't …if something happens to them…I can't…"

"Shhh don't think like that. We'll get to them in time. I promise. We will save them."

--

Jacob came into the dark room. Chase was curled up in the corner and Catherine was lying on her back looking at the ceiling.

"All right you little brats. It's time to go join your daddy in hell." He sneered.

"Mommy said daddy is in heaven." Chase yelled

"No you stupid brat. Your daddy is in hell. That's where they send all of the bad people."

"He wasn't bad." Chase cried

"Oh he was very very bad. He ate people Chase." Chase's eyes widened in fear and hurt. "That's right Chase daddy ate people for dinner. He was very scary and he made people cry. He really liked to eat little boys just like you." Chase started to sob.

"Shut up." Catherine screamed

"Aww what's wrong little girl?" He said as he walked over to her

"You are a liar."

"No sweetheart. I'm telling the truth. Your daddy was a very bad man who ate people." He said as he leaned down. Catherine saw her opening and she leaned back, brought her legs up to her chest. "What are you doing little one?" She answered him by bringing her feet to her to his chest and she sent him flying across the room.

"Chase get up." She yelled as she ran over to Jacob.

"What the hell was that?" He groaned. No one told him that the little brat was strong.

"You said a bad word. You shouldn't say bad words." Catherine said as she began kicking him.

"Catherine…he said that daddy…" Chase whispered

"He's lying Chase. Kick him for lying." She demanded and he quickly joined his sister in kicking that mean awful man. Suddenly the door was kicked open, scaring both Catherine and Chase.

Cordy rushed into the room with Connor and Angel close on her heels. When Cordy laid her eyes on her children, kicking the shit out Jacob she felt pride soar through her body.

"MOMMY." Catherine and Chase yelled. Cordy fell to her knees and held out her arms. They rushed into them sobbing.

"My babies. My sweet babies." She cried as she covered them with tears and kisses. "Are you okay? Did her hurt you?" The kids were crying to hard to answer her. Connor came up behind them and untied their hands.

"What the…how did you?" Jacob said as he attempted to pull himself up. Angel moved away from the doorway where he was standing staring at his kids, and kicked him in the face.

"Lay your ass down." He growled.

"Angel…your dead." Jacob whispered

"Not anymore."

"Daddy…" Catherine whispered.

"Yeah chipmunk, it's me." She didn't move away from her mother. Chase's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"I want you guys to go outside and wait for us while we talk to Jacob." Cordy said

"But mommy…" Catherine began.

"Please take Chase and go wait outside for us okay?" Cordy asked sternly.

"Mommy…"

"Catherine GO." Catherine took Chase's hand and they walked out of the room staring at Angel as they left. As soon as they were gone Cordy turned to Jacob and drove her sword into his stomach.

"You bastard." She screamed. "You were going to kill my children." She pulled her sword out and plunged it an again. He screamed out in agony. "My children are innocent and you were going to kill them."

"Cordy…I…please…no" She repeated the process with her sword again.

"Shut the fuck up. You think that you can attempt to kill my babies and live to tell about it?" She twisted the sword.

"I warned you. I told you that if you broke her heart, I would rip yours out." Connor said and Jacob actually looked scared. "I never break my promise."

"Connor…please don't."

"How many times did my brother and sister say those words to you?" He said as he punched him in the face."

"Please…show mercy. I…didn't hurt them." He begged. Angel lifted him off of the ground by his neck and held him against the wall.

"If we wouldn't have walked in would you have killed them?"

"No…I…" Angel increased the pressure around his neck and he struggled to breathe.

"Don't lie to me." He said showing his vamp side. "I don't like liars, especially when it concerns my kids. Now were you going to kill my children?"

"Yes…" Angel dropped him to the floor.

"Cordy would you like to finish this bastard off?" Angel asked as her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and tossed it to Angel. "Oh look, now I get to find out how to kill your boss." He said as he flipped the phone open.

"Show me your true face." She demanded. Jacob was still wearing his human face.

"No way." He gasped

""Do as she asks or I will cut your face off until your demon side shows." Connor growled as he pushed the tip of his sword onto his cheek.

Jacob quickly brought out his demon half. He was scared. He knew he was going to die and he figured that it could be relatively quick and painless or he could be tortured to death and he knew that the three of them would make sure he would experience a lot of pain and he was no fool. So he did as asked.

"No one gets away with trying to heart my babies." She said and he started laughing.

"Something funny?" Connor asked

"Just remembering how your little brats cried for their mommy." He said smugly. Cordy quickly raised her sword and sliced his head off. She stared at it for a half of second before running past Connor and Angel to get outside to her children.

"Mommy." They yelled

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry." She sobbed into their hair.

"Mommy we kicked him." Catherine said proudly

"I know. I saw you."

"Are you mad?"

"No. I am very proud of you."

"You said that if anyone is trying to hurt us we could kick them and we kicked him really hard." She explained

"You did just what I wanted you to do," Suddenly, Catherine tore her self out of her mother's arms and ran into her fathers.

"Daddy." Angel scooped his daughter up and hugged her as tight as he dared without hurting her.

"I've missed you so much." He sobbed into her hair.

"Everyone said that you were dead." She said into his shirt.

"I was chipmunk but I'm not anymore."

"Why?"

"I had to come back to get you and Chase away from Jacob."

"Are you going to die again?" She asked quietly. Angel wasn't quite sure how to answer her. He didn't want to lie to her and tell her that he wouldn't because everyone dies but he also didn't want to tell her that he would and take a chance scaring her.

"Everybody dies Catherine. One day I will die again, but hopefully not for a very long time."

"I love you daddy and I am so glad that you aren't dead." She said as she kissed him.

"I love you too chipmunk and I'm glad that I'm not dead anymore." He set her on the ground and they walked hand and hand over to Chase. "Hey sport." He whispered as he reached his hand out to his son. To everyone's surprise, Chase backed away from and Angel.

"Chase baby, it's okay. It's daddy. He came back for you." He clawed his away onto Cordy and buried his face in her neck. Cordy looked up at Angel. "I'm sorry. He is just confused."

"It's okay." He said fighting back the tears. "Have you gotten a vision yet on The Flexen?"

"Oh yeah. " She rattled off the address of where he was while they all settled in the car. Connor drove while Angel and Cordy sat in the back. Catherine was clinging to Angel was Chase was clinging to Cordy, staring at Angel with fear in his eyes, something that Angel never wanted to see in his children's eyes when they looked at him.

They quickly arrived at The Flexen's hideout. Angel and Connor jumped out of the car and made quick work of him.

"Just like old times huh dad?" Connor said

"It sure is son." Angel said with a smile. Connor suddenly swung his arms around his father's neck and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so glad your back. I have missed you so much." He said tearfully.

"I've missed you too Connor." He whispered as they pulled away from each other.

"Come on, let's get out of here. You need to meet my daughter."

"Daughter?" Connor nodded and Angel grinned.

"Let's go."

--

"Dad." Ciara yelled when they all walked into the lobby. Angel released Catherine's hand and opened his arms and embraced his beautiful daughter in law. "Are you really back for good?" She sobbed into his chest.

"I'm back sweetheart."

"I've missed you so much."

"I know sweetheart. I know." He whispered. "I hear that there is a little girl that I need to meet." He said as they pulled away from each other.

"Let me go get her." Ciara said as she ran out of the room.

"Did you kick some demon ass?" Gunn asked

"We sure did." Connor said

"Not that we aren't glad that you have returned but can you tell us what happened?" Wesley asked.

Just as Angel was beginning his story, Ciara walked into the lobby carrying a bundle wrapped in a pink blanket.

"Dad, meet your granddaughter Angela Doyle." She said as she handed the pink bundle to Angel. He slowly looked down at his beautiful granddaughter. She had a head full of dark curls; her mother's blue eyes and Angel swore he saw his old friend Doyle in her face.

"She is so beautiful." He said tearfully.

"She is named after her grandfather." Connor explained

"Hi there princess." He whispered. She looked up at him and smiled. "She smiled at me."

"Of course she did. You are her grandpa." Angel held and played with her for another fifteen minutes until she started fussing. Ciara quickly took her. "She hungry." Ciara quickly arranged the blanket over her shoulder and she began to nurse her daughter.

"So what happened while you were gone Angel?" Fred asked as Catherine climbed up on his lap. She has not left his side at all and Chase still had not left his mother's side or spoken to Angel at all.

"Did you tell them about my first visit?" He asked Cordy. She nodded so he continued on. "After my visit they sent me to …well you know." Everyone nodded. "I was there for a year and they pulled me out and told me what was going on with…well you know…"Again nods "They told me that they will send me back to earth to help my family but not as I once was. I was technically killed so I could not be restored as the same man I once was. They couldn't give me my humanity because I signed it away in my own blood so they came up with an alternate plan. If I destroy Angelus then I can be returned with a permanent soul, different as I was before. They sent me to uh…another dimension where I could fight monsters and demons to train for my battle. After six months they sent for me and Angelus was ripped out of me and we fought for hours and I finally defeated him. After a few days of healing they sent me back here and you all know the rest." They were all silent for a minute.

"Angelus is gone?" Connor said. Angel nodded.

"For good?" Gunn asked. Angel nodded again.

"So you can experience perfect happiness and Angelus won't reemerge?"

"No. He is gone for good." He said looking at Cordy.

"Angel that is wonderful news." Wesley said happily.

"I would of preferred to be human but I will take what I can get and a permanent soul is pretty damn good."

After an hour or so of playing catch up Cordy announced that she needed to get the kids home who had fallen asleep.

"Are you coming with me?" Cordy asked him quietly

"Do you want me to?" She nodded. "Then I'm coming."

Twenty minutes later they were at Cordy's house. She let them in and Catherine showed him around her home.

"Cor you have a beautiful home." He said

"Thanks. I used the Wolfram and Hart money to buy it. I couldn't stay at the hotel or my old house. It held too many memories of you, of us."

"I'm so sorry about…" Cordy cut him off.

"Not now. Let's get the kids in bed then we will talk." He nodded. "Okay guys. Bathroom to brush your teeth then get your jammies on. Chase it's your turn to pick the story." The kids ran out of the room.

"Wow Cor, you run a tight ship."

"I was a single mom. I had to."

"Mommy I can't find my slippers." Chase yelled

"Why don't you go help him?" Cordy suggested

"Will you come with me?" He asked. He actually looked frightened. "Something is wrong. He is afraid of me and I don't want to scare him." She nodded and followed him to Chase's room. "Hey sport. Can I help you find your slippers?"

"GO AWAY." Chase yelled

""Chase it's me daddy." Chase ran over to Angel and kicked him hard in the shins.

"Owwww." He yelled

"Chase Liam Angel. You do not kick your father." Cordy yelled

"But mama you said that I could kick bad people."

"Baby, daddy isn't bad."

"Yes he is. He is a very bad man. He eats people." Cordy and Angel looked at each other in shock.

**Thanks so much for reading. Just to let you know this story is coming to a close. Maybe three or four chapters left.**


	67. Chapter 67

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

He knew that one day his children would learn about his evil past but he was hoping that they would be older and able to understand, but not now, they were too young.

"Chase listen to me." Angel slowly walked over to his son.

"DON'T EAT ME." He screamed and ran to his mother.

If he had a heart it would have broken when those words came out of his mouth. His baby boy was terrified of him.

"Chase sweetheart daddy would never eat you. Daddy is a good man."

"Jacob told us that daddy is a very bad man." Catherine explained as she walked up and took Angel's hand. "He said that he eats people."

Angel and Cordy looked at each other. She could see the anguish in his eyes. She knew that Chase being scared of him was destroying him.

"Come on guys, we need to talk." Cordy said as she carried Chase into the living room followed by Catherine and Angel. Once they were settled Cordy took a deep breath and attempted to explain who their father used to be.

"Do you guys know what a demon is?" Cordy asked them

"Yeah, a very bad ugly thing that hurts people." Catherine said

"No always. Is Uncle Lorne something that hurts people?"

"No. He is nice. He always gives me cookies." Chase said

"That's right Chase. Uncle Lorne is a demon and he would never hurt anyone. Do you know who else is a demon?" The kids shook their heads. "I am demon."

"No you're not." Catherine said

"Yes I am. Watch this." Cordy made herself glow and she lifted her children in the air, smiling as she heard them giggling. "See I'm a demon and so are you."

"Not huh."

"Yes huh. Because I'm your mommy that makes a part of you a demon too."

"Wow." Catherine said

"So you see not every demon is bad. There are good and bad demons and all of us in here are good demons." The kids didn't respond. "You guys know that daddy is a vampire right?' The kids nodded. "Chase baby do you know what a vampire is?"

"No."

"A vampire is a very bad person that likes to hurt people."

"Do they really eat people like Jacob said?" Catherine asked and now Angel took over.

"Vampires don't really eat people." He began slowly. "Vampires have very sharp teeth that they use to bite people and drink their blood."

"Ewww." Catherine said and then she placed her hands on his face, opened his mouth and began to inspect it. "You don't have sharp teeth."

"I do just not all of the time. They stay hidden."

"I wanna see." Angel looked helplessly at Cordy.

"Sweetheart, it might scare you." Cordy said.

"I wanna see." Cordy nodded at Angel and he vamped.

"That is so cool." Catherine said surprising both of her parents. Chase on the other hand began whimpering. Catherine reached up and ran her fingers over his vamped forehead with obvious fascination. Her hands went to his mouth and she touched his teeth. "Oww. Your teeth are sharp."

"Yeah they are baby."

"Chase look at daddy's face. It's really cool." His face was buried in his mother's chest. He shook his head. "Come on Chase. Don't be a baby."

"Catherine be nice." Angel scolded.

"But he really should look. It's really awesome." Angel laughed and turned back to his normal handsome face.

"Chase your daddy is a good vampire. Just like me and Uncle Lorne are good demons, your daddy is a good vampire."

"But…but…he eats people." He whispered

"Yes I did son but it was a very long time ago. I was a very bad vampire but I had something very special put inside me that made me a good vampire and now I don't hurt anyone anymore. I help people."

"But…Jacob said."

"Jacob was a very bad demon Sport and he was just trying to scare you. I would never ever hurt you." He whispered softly. Chase looked up at his father with tears shining in his brown eyes.

"You won't eat me?" Angel slowly walked over to his son and knelt down in front of him.

"Never ever Chase. You are my big boy and I love you very much. I would never hurt you. Okay?"

"Okay daddy."

"Can I have a hug now?" Chase slowly climbed off of his mother's lap and wrapped his arms around Angel's neck.

"I'm sorry I kicked you." Angel laughed.

"It's okay sport. I love you."

"I love you too daddy. I'm glad you aren't dead anymore."

"Me too Chase. Me too."

After Angel read the kids their story their parents tucked them in bed and they headed to the living room to finally talk.

"Do you want something to drink? I don't have any blood but I can get you something else." She asked

"No I'm okay."

"Well, I definitely need a beer." She said as she headed to the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later with tow beers. She handed one to him and he raised his eyebrows. "What? I don't like to drink alone." She sat herself on the opposite end of the couch from where he was sitting. He desperately wanted to kiss her but he held back. He figured that she wasn't ready for anything intimate yet. He had been dead for over a year and he knew that she needed time to process that he was alive. At least he could smell her.

"So…" He said

"So…" She repeated.

"Tell me about the last year and half."

"Let's see you died, I moved on like you suggested, our children got kidnapped by the man with whom I moved on with and then you came back and I killed him."

"I didn't know that was going to happen.."

"I only started dating him because you wanted me to move on."

"Cor…I'm sorry. I only wanted you to be happy."

"You should have known that I could only be happy with you."

"So you weren't happy at all when I was gone?"

"You say it like you were out of town or something. You were dead Angel. The love of my life was dead. "

"I…I…"

"After you came to see me I got my ass back in gear and tried to get on with my life. I tried to stay and work at the hotel but I couldn't do it. My heart wasn't in it anymore. Everything reminded me of you and what I lost. I bought a new house and got a new job, I tried to get as far away from our memories as possible but it never worked. You were always there."

"What kind of job did you get?"

"Acting. I have a small part on a soap opera."

"I'm proud of you Cordy."

"For what? All I did was run away from everything that was us but no matter how far I ran it was never far enough because every time I looked at our children I saw you."

"How were they?"

"How do you think they were? They lost their dad. Catherine withdrew from us. She wasn't the happy carefree little girl anymore. She was angry and was always picking fights with me, Chase and kids at school, and poor Chase. He wouldn't leave my side for weeks. He was terrified that I was going to die. Getting him back in school was a nightmare. He screamed and cried. It broke my heart to send him back and truthfully I liked having him around. Ever since you have died he has become a permanent fixture on my hip."

"Is Catherine still picking fights?"

"No. It took about a year before she finally got back to her sweet beautiful self."

"I hate that all of you had to go through all of that."

"When you came to me you said that you have been watching." He nodded. "Have you been watching us this whole time?"

"No. After I was sent back they offered me a few days to watch but it hurt too much to see my family on earth hurting so I was just sent straight to hell."

"You were in hell?" She whispered

"Of course I was in hell. I don't deserve heaven."

"After you died Chase colored you a picture and asked if you could see it from heaven. I figured that you weren't in heaven but I didn't want to tell my baby that so I told him that you could see it from heaven as long as he hung it on the fridge. It's still there."

"Thank you for telling him that."

"Was it bad?"

"Hell?" She nodded. "Yeah it was bad. It was real bad. I thought the pain after I almost burst into flames on Catherine's birthday party was bad, but it was nothing compared to the pain I experienced during my stay in hell."

"Angel…I'm sorry."

"Don't be. After all of the pain and hurt that I caused during my life as Angelus it was the least that I deserve."

"Fire?"

"Oh yeah, lots of fire. When they pulled me out and told me that I had only been there for a year, I was shocked. It felt like I had been there for a hundred years and the only thing that I could think of while I was burning was my family." Cordy looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"You said earlier that you defeated Angelus?"

"Yeah. The Powers wanted me to come back to earth to save the kids but I couldn't be the same. Because I signed away my humanity to The Circle of The Black Thorn they couldn't send me back as human. They found a loophole that would allow them to send me back with a permanent soul. But of course nothing is ever that easy. For me to get a permanent soul I had to defeat Angelus. So the sent me to some other hell dimension for six months to fight against demons as a way of training for my fight."

"How was that hell dimension?"

"It was nasty but I survived. When my training time was up I was taken back to what have come to fondly refer to as the holding dimension. They gave me a few days to gather my strength and then they painfully sucked Angelus from my body. After hours of battling back and forth I finally defeated him."

"How weird." Cordy said and Angel grinned.

"Tell me about it. The worst thing about fighting yourself if your opponent knows all of your moves, sometimes even before I did. Angelus was without a doubt the hardest thing that I had ever fought."

"Did you ever think that you weren't going to win?'

"I went into the fight with every intention of kicking Angelus's ass but yes there was one point that I thought that he would take me."

"What happened?"

"I got over confident and he kicked me in the…you know." Cordy grinned and Angel continued. "He had me pinned on my back and the stake was actually touching my skin above my heart but then he started talking shit about the kids and I lost it. I grabbed his hand that was holding the stake and broke it then I quickly ended it."

"If he would have won would he have been sent back here?"

"No, he would have been sent to hell and then Catherine and Chase…they would have… God, I came so damn close to not saving them." He said tearfully. Cordy scooted next to him and took his hand.

"But you did. You always come through and save your family and this time was no different."

"I failed you guys Cor."

"What the hell are you talking about? Our babies are sleeping safe and sound in their rooms."

"I died and left you guys all alone." He pulled her to his chest and rested his head on hers.

"Angel you didn't plan on dying that night. You did what you had to do to save the world. You didn't fail us. You saved all of our lives that night."

"I'm so sorry that I left you. I didn't want to leave." Cordy felt his body shake with sobs. From her position she hugged his body tightly.

"I know baby…I know." He cried for close to an hour. He cried for the pain that he caused his family, he cried for the year and a half that he lost, he cried because he missed them so damn much and he cried because he was glad to be home.

"I'm sorry." He sniffed.

"Don't be. It's a total normal reaction for someone who was dead and was brought back to life." Angel burst out laughing.

"There is nothing normal about being brought back to life a year after it happened."

"Since when are we normal?"

"Good point." They both stopped talking and just looked at each other for a few minutes. She placed her hand on his face.

"I can't believe that you are really here. That you are back in my life." He covered her hand with his own.

"It's a miracle that we have more time together."

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you Cordelia." They slowly leaned towards each other and their lips met in a gentle kiss. The gentleness quickly turned deep then it was filled with passion. He gently pushed her back onto the couch as their tongues met. Her hands were running through his hair and his hands cupped her face. They only broke apart for seconds at a time when she needed to breathe and during those few seconds that their lips were not touching their eyes never left each other. Finally after an hour of wonderful kissing they finally broke apart and just held each other.

"I never thought that we would be able to do that again." She whispered softly.

"Besides my dreaming of it while I was in hell, no I never thought I would ever be able to touch your lips again." They were silent for a few minutes.

"In case I didn't mention it earlier, I have a permanent soul."

"I do recall you mentioning that."

"So we can now have sex any time that we want without the fear of Angelus. I can finally give you what you have always wanted."

"Sweet Angel. I already have everything that I have always wanted. You are what I have always wanted and now I have you back."

"So you don't want to have sex?" She hit him upside his head.

"Are you crazy? Of course I want to have sex with you but what I want more is for you to know that you were all that I ever wanted."

"I know that Cor."

"Good."

"So let's do it."

"Not tonight. The kids will be up in a few hours. I want to make loud passionate love to you ALL NIGHT without the fear of interruption from our children."

"Well when you put it like that I guess that I can wait until tomorrow."

"Make no plans for tomorrow or actually tonight because it's all about me and you babe."

"I'm looking forward to it." He leaned towards her and he gently kissed her again.

"Hmmmmm." She whispered when he pulled away from her.

" I second that."

"I almost forgot. I have something for you." She said as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

"For me?" She nodded and slipped her hand down her shirt.

"Cordelia." He said with a grin. "I thought you wanted to wait."

"Not that you perv." She said with a smile of her own. She pulled out a long chain and unhooked it from around her neck. Attached to the chain was three rings. She pulled off the first ring and placed it in his hand.

"My wedding ring."

"It was the only thing that was left of you when you were dusted. I put it on a chain so I could always have a part of you close to my heart. A year after you were gone I took my mine off and added it to the chain so we would always be together."

"So since I'm back does that mean that we are still married?"

"Do you want to still be married?"

"More than anything. Do you?" She nodded. He reached over and took her engagement and wedding rings out of her hand and placed them back on her left hand where they belonged. She took his ring out of his hand and placed it back on his ring finger of his left hand.

"I love you so much Angel." She whispered with tears streaming down her cheeks. He gently wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"Hey no more tears." He whispered softly. "Everything is going to be okay again."

"Promise?"

"I promise." She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "I love you my sweet Cordy. I love you so much."

**Not over yet. The long awaited reunion next then a chapter or two to finalize everything.**


	68. Chapter 68

**I own none of the characters of Angel.**

"Mommy. Daddy." Catherine and Chase's voices rang through the living room waking Cordy and Angel who had fallen asleep together on the couch a few hours ago. Both Angel and Cordy groaned but did not open their eyes. "Mommy. Daddy. Get up."

"Morning." Cordy groggily whispered as she pulled herself off of Angel's chest, wiping the drool that was on her face.

"Morning sweetheart." He responded as he looked at the wet spot on his shirt caused by her drool. He really missed her drooling and snoring, which was music to his ears.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Chase announced as soon as his parents pulled themselves into a sitting position.

"Me too." Said Catherine.

"Okay you two, go brush your teeth and we'll get some breakfast." Cordy instructed and the kids ran to their bathroom. "You must be starving and I don't have any blood."

"I'll be okay."

"You need clothes too. I got rid of most of your clothes when you died. Why don't you make the kids some of your awesome scrambled eggs and I'll go get you some clothes and blood."

" Cor, I can go shopping for my own clothes but I may need some money." She snorted.

"Puh-lease. Do you think that I would let you buy your own clothes? If I did you would look like the grim reaper again. This is your second, third, no fourth I think, chance at life and I'm going to take this opportunity to buy you some clothes with color."

"I like black."

"I like color. I'm going to shower. I expect some eggs when I get done."

"Yes mam." He replied smartly. She gently kissed him.

"God, I have missed that. I love you."

"I love you too." He headed to the kitchen to cook his children breakfast, something he never thought that he would be doing again. Cordy was right. He was given yet another chance at life and he was going to make the best of it.

"Can I help daddy?" Catherine asked. He had to bite his tongue to keep from shedding tears of happiness.

"Of course you can chipmunk. Get me the eggs." He said with a smile. He was so glad to be home with his family.

--

When Cordy returned three hours later, she opened the door to the sound of laughter. Her family was laughing again and it warmed her heart. She walked into the living room, loaded down with shopping bags and saw everyone who she considered family sitting around talking and laughing. Angel was holding his namesake Angela looking totally amazed.

"Did you guys hear that? She laughed." He said with a huge smile.

"No dad, I think she just burped." Connor said and everyone laughed.

"Cordy, you should have called me, I would have gone shopping with you." Fred said when she noticed Cordy standing there.

"It was a last minute thing cause someone needed some clothes." Angel reluctantly handed Angela to her mother and walked over to Cordy. "I'm going to get Mr. Stinky here situated so he can shower. I'll be right back." She handed him some blood and he hungrily drank it as they walked to her room.

"Thank you. I was starving."

"Well I'm glad that you waited for this blood instead of eating our guests."

"Ha ha, very funny."

"I bought you a bunch of pants and shirts. I really hope that you haven't gained any weight during you're stay in hell." She winked at him. "I also got you everything else you will need, deodorant, shaving supplies, aftershave, toothbrush and some other shit that you need." He kissed her gently.

"I love you. Thank you for everything."

"My pleasure." She whispered tearfully. "I'm just so glad you're back."

"You have no idea."

"Now shower and I'm going to try to convince someone to watch our kids tonight." She winked and left him to his shower.

"So, does anyone need any coffee?" Cordy asked when she came out of the bedroom.

"I'll help." Fred said after everyone asked for a cup. "So you look tired."

"I am. We were up most of the night." Fred raised her eyebrows.

"Oh really? Was it amazing?"

"We talked until the sun came up."

"That's it? Just talked? He has a permanent soul now. I figured you were going to jump his bones."

"I wanted to, believe me but we had a lot to talk about. After we were all talked out the sun was rising and we fell asleep in each other's arms on the couch. It was wonderful being in his arms again. I still can't believe that he is back."

"Do you guys have any plans for tonight?"

"No."

"Let Wesley and I take the kids for the night so that way you and Angel can have some quality alone time."

"Really? You would be willing to watch them for us tonight?"

"Of course. How many times did you take my children for a night? It's the least that I can do for my best friend."

"Thank you Fred, so much. This means the world to me…to us." She wrapped her arms around her best friend.

"You are so welcome." Suddenly, Cordy pulled back from Fred. "Oh my God Fred, I can have sex with Angel again, any damn time I want like a normal couple. Oh My God." She squealed and both women both started laughing.

After hours of talking, laughing and eating everyone decided to call it a night and give Angel and Cordy some time alone.

"I don't wanna go with Aunt Fred and Uncle Wes." Catherine whined. "I wanna stay with daddy."

"Sweetie you haven't stayed with them for a long time." Cordy said. "You will have so much fun with Mattie and Jimmy."

"I don't wanna play with those stupid boys."

"I'm not stupid." Matthew yelled

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Catherine, enough, " Cordy said using her best mom voice. "You know better then to call people names. Now tell Matthew that you are sorry."

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"Listen to me chipmunk. Aunt Fred and Uncle Wes really want you and Chase to stay with them tonight and Chase really wants to go but not without his big sister. Now can you be a good big sister and go?" She nodded. "That's daddy's girl."

"Will you be here when I come home?"

"I promise. You will see me tomorrow. I'm not going anywhere for a long time." He pulled her into his arms for a hug. "I love you chipmunk."

"Love you too daddy." She mumbled into his neck. Chase came up to him and tugged on his shirt.

"Hey sport."

"I'm glad you 're back." He whispered softly. Angel picked up his son.

"I've missed you bud and I'm glad that I'm back too. I love you little man. Be a good boy."

"I love you daddy."

Ten minutes later Cordy had just shut and locked the door when Angel spun her around, crushing his lips to hers in a fiery, passionate kiss. As soon as their tongues met it was as if the were both seeing fireworks behind their closed eyes.

"Finally." He mumbled as he pressed his lips to her neck. He was trying to unbutton her shirt but his fingers weren't cooperating so he just ripped it open. He pressed her mouth to her bra-covered breasts. "Wonderful." He murmured. Somehow she managed to unbutton his shirt and her fingers were running all over his chest. "Cor…" He groaned. Her hands unbuckled his belt and quickly pushed his pants down. "I need to be inside you."

"I'm not stopping you."

"No but your damn pants are." He whispered as he struggled to unbutton her jeans.

"When did you become so clumsy?" She asked with a giggle. She gently pushed his hands away from her jeans and unbuttoned them for him.

"Thank God." He shoved them down past her hips and she quickly kicked them and her panties off to the side. He gently pushed her against the wall, lifted her leg, wrapped it around his hip and he pushed himself into her.

"Angel." She gasped.

"You feel so fucking good." He roughly thrust himself into her. Within minutes her body was contracting against his.

"That was…" She gasped. He responded by kissing her hard.

Once he pulled his lips away from hers, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom and gently deposited her on the bed. He climbed on top of her and removed what was left of her shirt and bra. "I'm sorry that I was rough baby. I just had to be inside of you."

"I'm not complaining."

"Good because I would never want to hurt you. I love you to damn much."

"You could never hurt me unless I asked you too." Angel's eyes widened in shock and she grinned. "Make love to me Angel."

He didn't have to be asked twice. He began to plant kisses on her body. He quickly found her breasts. She moaned in delight when he began to bite one of her hard nipples while he rolled the other between his thumb and finger.

"Angel, I need you inside me…please." She begged. He spread her legs with his knees and he slowly sheathed himself of the woman he loves. "Ohhhhh… Angel." She moaned. "Closer, please, I want you close to me." She pulled him to her and kissed him gently. He slowly moved inside of her. "Oh God…yes…yes…Angel." She breathed in his ear. He spent the next two hours making love to his wife and giving them both multiple orgasms. Just when he thought that he was done a simple word or touch would get him going again.

"Angel…please, I can't." She whispered after her third orgasm. He was still pumping himself into her and showing no signs of stopping.

"One more time baby. I want us to cum together." After a few more thrusts he felt her walls contracting around him. "That's it baby, let it go. Open your eyes and look at me." She opened her eyes as she felt her body began to contract. She didn't think that she had another orgasm in her but she was pleasantly surprised as she was screaming out his name at the same time that he was screaming her name.

"Are you trying to kill me?" She asked breathlessly when he finally pulled himself out of her. He laughed as he pulled her sweat-covered body into his arms.

"Because we always had a time limit, you never knew what I was actually capable of."

"Dear God, I never knew that sex could be that …wow. I mean I thought that the other times that we made love was great but I never knew it could be so…wow. I mean four orgasms. I never thought that was possible. I may never walk again."

"Are you complaining?"

"Absolutely not."

"Good because I plan on pleasuring you multiple times on multiple occasions."

"I plan on letting you pleasure me multiple times." He smiled and leaned forward and kissed her gently. "You make me so damn happy, perfectly happy." She said with a grin.

"I can say that I am perfectly happy as well."

"But not evil right?"

"Angelus is gone." He whispered.

"I love you Angel." Cordy mumbled sleepily

"I love you too, my sweet Cordelia." She snuggled into his arms and attempted to go to sleep but she felt him staring at her.

"What?" She asked through closed eyes.

"Nothing."

"Then quit staring at me. You are freaking me out."

"What the hell? Your eyes are closed."

"I can feel it."

"Sorry." He mumbled with a kiss on her forehead. "You're just so beautiful."

"What's on your mind?" She asked as she rolled over to face him. He had been moving around so she knew his brain was working overtime.

"Well…I was wondering…oh never mind."

"Just spit it out Angel."

"Did you sleep with him?" She didn't answer right away. She knew that they were going to have to deal with the Jacob factor eventually but she never thought it would be after the most amazing sex that they had just had. She laid her head on his chest.

"You told me to move on."

"So I'll take that as a yes then."

"It was only a couple of times during which I was thinking of you."

"I told you to move on." She felt tears filling up her eyes.

"Are you mad?" She whispered in a choked voice.

"No sweetheart I'm not mad. You did what I wanted you to do. How can I possibly be mad at that?"

"Why are you acting so weird?"

"I just don't like thinking about you with another man."

"Then don't. It's just you and me now, forever. And if you happen to croak again, believe me, I won't be moving on and you can bet your ass if I die, I sure as hell don't want you with anyone else. That may seem unfair cause you can live for hundreds of years after I go, but I'm selfish and I don't want your lips, hands or anything else touching another woman."

"You will always be the only woman for me."

"Good, now go to sleep."

"One more thing." He said with a smile.

"What?" She yawned.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

--

The next morning Angel awoke to Cordy's tongue caressing his nipples. He groaned.

"Waking up like this every morning is something that I can definitely get used to." He mumbled through closed eyes.

"Oh it is a definite possibility. Now sit your sexy ass up."

"I'm so comfy here." She slid her hand down to his inner thigh and smiled as he showed her how happy he was.

"Okay then, no sex for you." He quickly pulled himself into a sitting position. "Now that's a good boy." He grinned like a kid. "Because you were such a good boy, you should get a reward, don't you think?"

"I have been a very good boy." She swung her leg over his so she was straddling him and she slid herself onto his throbbing erection.

"Cor…" He groaned.

She grabbed his hands and placed them on her hips and she placed her breast in his mouth, which he immediately began to suck, and she wrapped her fingers in his hair. She began to move herself slowly up and down his extremely large manhood. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft moans coming from both lovers.

"Angel…harder…faster." She begged as she felt the beginnings of her orgasm. Without moving his mouth away from her breast, he gripped her hips tightly and pounded himself into her.

"Is that good?" He panted as he moved furiously within her.

"YES." She moaned loudly. A few minutes later, they were both screaming out in pleasure as they emptied themselves into each other. Once Cordy got her breath back she pressed her lips to his and they kissed deeply. When they finally broke apart she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder and held him tightly. He gently rubbed her naked back.

"Baby, what's wrong?" He asked when he felt tears on his shoulder.

"Nothing." She sniffed.

"Cor…" He gently pulled her away from him so he could look at her. "Sweetie?"

"I…I…don't know. I…never thought that we would be together again. I've…missed you so damn much." The emotions of the past two days have finally caught up with her, losing him, getting him back, Catherine and Chase's kidnapping, the guilt she felt for bringing Jacob into her life. She broke down in sobs and he held her tightly until she calmed down.

"It's all going to be okay now Cor. I'm back now."

"But it wasn't okay when you were gone. It was horrible. I was so alone."

"I'm so sorry that I left you alone."

"You didn't do it on purpose."

"I wanted to be with you so bad."

"If you wouldn't of come back, he would have killed our babies Angel and it would have been all my fault because I brought him into their lives."

"You didn't know. It was not your fault. I think he would gotten them no matter what. We got them back and that's all that matters."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't protect them. I let you down." Using his thumb he gently wiped away her tears.

"Sweetheart, you didn't let me down. You could never let me down. Never. Do you understand me?" She nodded and he kissed her gently. "I love you Cordelia."

"I love you Angel." They clung to each other until Angel felt her breathing become slow and even. She had fallen asleep. He gently laid her on the bed, wrapped his arms around her and joined her in sleep.

When they awoke a few hours later, they made love again, slowly and tenderly, whispering words of love to each other.

"I was thinking about going back to Ireland." He said as she lay with her head on his chest and his fingers were running softly through her hair.

"For good?" She asked

"No, just a trip. Since I have gotten another chance at life I would like to take you to where I was raised. Granted, I haven't been there for a couple of hundred years and it has probably changed since I was last there, but I want to see it again and I want you to see it. What do you think?"

"I would love to see where you came from and just think of all the shopping that I can do." He laughed.

"Some things will never change."

"Would you want them to?"

"Never ever."

"Good." She said smugly. "Because I can't change. It's physically impossible."

"So…" Angel began slowly.

"I know that tone. You've been thinking, never a good thing."

"Not funny."

"What's on your mind big boy?"

"Do you think maybe we got pregnant again?"

"We? What the hell do you mean we? If I recall you didn't get fat for nine months and then go through an insane amount of pain to push out something the size of a watermelon out something the size of a nostril." She said with a smirk.

"Sorry, Do you think that you got pregnant?"

"I have thought about and I know that there is nothing that we can do about it. If the powers want me knocked up then knocked up I will be."

"Do you want to be knocked up?" He asked using air quotes.

"Honestly, no I don't want another baby. I love our family just the way it is. Now don't get me wrong, if I'm pregnant again I will love this baby as much as I love Catherine and Chase because it would be our baby but if I don't get pregnant I'll be totally fine with it. What about you? Do you want another baby?"

"I'm with you. I love our family just the way it is but if we have another baby then I will be thrilled."

"I finally feel that everything is how it's supposed be. We have a wonderful family; great friends and we have each other. Things can only get better from here on out."

"You're right baby. You are absolutely right." They looked at each other, smiled and shared a passionate kissed that was full of all the love that they felt for each other.

**Thank you everyone for all of your reviews. You guy all rock.**


	69. Chapter 69

**I own none of the characters of Angel**

The years after Angel returned were wonderful for them. Cordelia never did end up pregnant again which was fine with them. They were able to live a relatively normal life or as normal as a vampire and half demon and their children could live. Angel went back to work for the agency and Cordy continued to work for the soap opera, occasionally helping out when needed. She wanted to give her children as normal an upbringing as possible. A year after Angel returned they traveled to Ireland. It had changed since he had last been there but it was as beautiful as he remembered it and Cordy absolutely loved seeing the country that Angel or Liam hailed from and the shopping wasn't so bad either. For the most part they lived like any other American family; the kids played sports, they had family dinners, birthday parties, date nights and lots of sex, they had a lot to make up for and like every other American family they weren't without their problems.

**_Catherine age 12, Chase age 9_**

"Catherine open the door." Chase yelled as he banged on the closed and locked bathroom door.

"Go away Chase."

"Catherine I really gotta go. You have been in there FOREVER."

"Go away." She shouted but he didn't leave. He continued to stand there and bang on the door. He would stand there forever if he needed to.

"Chase." Angel yelled. "Quit banging on the damn door. What is going on?"

"I really gotta go and Catherine is not coming out."

"Then go use mom and my bathroom."

"But I wanna use this one." He really wanted to annoy his sister.

"A toilet is a toilet."

"But…"

"GO." Chase sulked off to his parent's bedroom, slamming the bathroom door behind him. Angel sighed and knocked softly on the door.

"Catherine sweetie, is everything okay?"

"Go away."

"Catherine open the door."

"No, I'm never coming out."

"What's wrong chipmunk?"

"I can't tell you. I want mom."

"She is shopping with Aunt Fred."

"I need mom." She sobbed.

"How about if I call her and you can talk to her. How does that sound?'

"Okay." She blubbered. He pulled out his cell phone and called his wife.

"Hey babe." Cordy answered.

"Catherine has locked herself in her bathroom and she won't come out until she talks to you. I have no idea what is going on."

"Give her the phone and wait in the hall." Angel gently knocked on the door.

"Sweetheart, mom's on the phone." The door creaked open and she stuck her hand through a small crack. Angel gave her the phone and she quickly shut the door.

"Mommy."

"What's wrong Catherine?"

"I started my period today." She sobbed.

"Honey, it's okay. We talked about this. We knew that it was going to happen."

"I know but I don't have the stuff that you said I would need and it's on my clothes." She cried into the phone.

"I'll buy you the stuff that you need but until then you can use mine. Just ask daddy to go get you what you need and some clean clothes."

"I can't. I'm embarrassed." She whispered into the phone.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about princess. He is your daddy. He is used to periods. I have mine every month. This is nothing new to him."

"I don't want Chase to know. He will make fun of me."

"I'll make sure daddy doesn't tell him. Now let me tell you what you need you to do." Cordy spent the next five minutes giving her daughter encouragement and instructions. They had all ready been over this but Catherine had panicked and forgotten everything. When they were done Catherine opened the door again and handed the phone back to her father.

"Mommy wants you." Came her voice from the other side.

"Cor?"

"Go and get my pads out of the bathroom and give them to her."

"Why does she need those?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth he realized what had happened. His little girl had become a woman and he didn't like that. "Oh no. This can not be happening."

"It's happening big guy. Now get her what she needs and don't make a big deal out of it. She is embarrassed."

"Why is she embarrassed and where the hell are your pads?"

"Under the sink and you're a man and she is a girl. That's why she is embarrassed."

"God, I hate this."

"Love you babe. Call me if you have any more issues." He slowly walked back to the bathroom and knocked again.

"Chipmunk, I have what you need." Again the door opened and she stuck her arm out and took what her father had for you and quickly shut the door. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour."

"Thanks daddy." Came her reply and he smiled.

**_Catherine age 15, Chase age 12_**

"Mommy, mommy look at my report card." Chase yelled as soon as he got home.

"Okay let me see." He shoved the paper in her hand.

"Where's daddy? I want him to see."

"He's a work baby." Cordy looked the list of A's in front of her. "Chase I am so proud of you. You know what this means don't you?"

"I get the newest Micro Ninja Zombies Four."

"Stupid video game." Catherine muttered.

"Where is your report card?"

"We didn't get them."

"Liar. We all got them." Chase said

"Shut up Chase."

"Hand it over young lady." Cordy held out her hand and Catherine grudgingly dug in her backpack and handed her report card to her mother. Cordy looked at it and sighed.

"Catherine, I am so disappointed. C's and D's. You are capable of so much more."

"Whatever." She smarted.

"You do realize that you are not going to the dance on Friday don't you."

"No that's not fair."

"You know the rules Catherine. Why should you be rewarded for slacking off at school?"

"It's not my fault mom. It's too hard."

"Bull shit Catherine. It wasn't too hard last semester when you got all A's."

"Please mom, if you let me go I promise to do better."

"Not happening."

"Mommy please. I have waited forever for Jason to ask me out."

"You know the rules. If Jason really likes you he will ask you again."

"I hate you." She yelled as she ran to her room.

"What else is new?" Cordy mumbled and Chase giggled.

_**Catherine age 16, Chase age 13**_

"Cordy I don't think that this is a good idea." Angel said pacing around the living room.

"Relax babe."

"She is too young."

"Angel she is sixteen. I was dating when I was sixteen. In fact when I was her age I.." Angel cut her off with a kiss.

"I don't want to know what you were doing at sixteen." The doorbell rang, Catherine ran down the stairs and Angel picked up a sword.

"You've got to be kidding me." Cordy said as she rolled her eyes.

"He's here. Oh my God, he's here." Catherine said. "How do I look mommy?"

"Beautiful."

"That skirt is to too short." Angel commented.

"No it's not." Cordy said. Catherine was wearing a jean skirt that came to her mid-calf.

"Daddy put the sword away."

"I need to clean it."

"Mom."

"Go get the door sweetheart."

"Daddy please." She begged but he shook his head. "Don't embarrass me."

"Count on it." Catherine rolled her eyes and she went to answer the door. After a few minutes Catherine hadn't brought her date in so Angel and Cordy went out to the hall.

"Catherine, aren't you going to introduce us?" Cordy said.

"Mom dad, this is Ryan, Ryan my parents."

"What's up?" Ryan said. Angel seriously wanted to throw this loser out the front door but held back the urge because his daughter's big brown eyes were begging him not to so he did the next best thing. He pulled out the sword and began to shine it. Ryan's eyes widened in shock.

"My dad collects swords. Don't mid him." Catherine said nervously glaring at her father.

"It's cool babe." Cordy gripped his arm.

"So what are your plans for this evening?" Cordy asked.

"Dinner and the new vampire flick." Angel laughed. A movie about vampires. He actually would like to see what Hollywood's take on vampires was.

"Have her home by eleven. Not a minute later." Angel said.

"Sure thing dude."

"Have fun sweetie." Cordy said

"Thanks mom." She kissed both of her parents and left with Ryan for their first date.

"I hate the kid. He is a prick." Angel said.

"He is just a kid." Cordy said.

"You liked him?" Angel asked incredulously

"No I hated the little asshole but our little girl likes him."

"But he's a slime."

"She's smart. She is infatuated right now but she realize that she can do much better."

"I just don't want her heart to get broken." He sat down heavily on the couch. Cordy sat down next to him and placed an encouraging hand on his knee.

"It's all part of growing up."

"I just want to protect her."

"You do sweetheart." She leaned forward and kissed him gently. The gentle kiss quickly turned hot and heavy.

"Gross." Came Chase's voice. "Don't you guys ever get tired of kissing?" Angel and Cordy quickly pulled themselves into a sitting position.

"Never." Angel smirked.

"I'm hungry."

"Why don't you go order some pizza?" Cordy suggested.

"All right." He said as he ran out of the room and his parents laughed.

At 10:30 Cordy and Angel were waiting up for Catherine to return from her date, cuddled on the couch watching some movie and sharing occasional kisses. Chase as usual was upstairs on his computer. His parents didn't worry about him because he was a genius when it came to computers and he was always working on some program that bored his family to tears but fascinated him. A sudden slamming of the door caused Cordy and Angel to jump up. Catherine walked into the room and right to her mother with big silent alligator tears rolling down her face.

"I'm going to kill him." Angel grumbled.

"Sweetie what happened?"

"He wanted to….but I told him that I wasn't ready…and…"

"Did he hurt you?" Angel whispered and Catherine shook her head.

"I may have hurt him though. My reflexes just kicked in and I forgot how strong that I am."

"What do you mean you may of hurt him?" Cordy asked.

"When he put his hand under my shirt…" Angel felt his blood boil.

"He did WHAT?" He croaked. Catherine ignored her father and continued.

"I grabbed it and twisted it. I think I broke it." Cordy couldn't hide her smirk.

"Where is he?" Angel asked.

"He was in too much pain to drive so I drove his car back here with him in the passenger seat. I still felt the need to punish him so I tossed his keys in the yard. He was looking for them when I came in." Within two seconds Angel was slamming the front door. Cordy and Catherine stared at each other.

"Mom stop him. He'll kill him." Both women jumped out and ran outside.

Meanwhile Angel scanned the yard and found that pathetic excuse for a human babying his arm and roaming around the yard looking for his car keys. "So Ryan did you like the vampire movie?" Angel called out as he walked over to the boy.

"We didn't make it."

"Well let me show you what you missed." Angel vamped, reached out, grabbed Ryan by the neck and lifted him off of the ground.

"Oh, God, please…don't kill me." He begged.

"I really should after what you did or what you tried to do to my daughter."

"I…I'm sorry."

"Angel. Put him down this instant." Cordy yelled as she walked up to Angel.

"Daddy…stop it." Angel slowly relinquished his grip and lowered Ryan to the ground.

"Don't you EVER come near my daughter again. In fact don't even think about her, look at her, say her name or even breathe in her direction. Do you understand me?" He nodded. " If I find out that you have broken any of my rules you won't need to see a vampire movie to find out what they are capable of. I'll give you a personal lesson. Now get the hell away from my daughter."

"My…my keys." He blubbered and Cordy handed them to him.

"Bye bye now." They stood there and watched as Ryan pulled out the driveway as soon as his headlights faded in the distance Catherine turned around a faced her father, fury burning in her brown eyes.

"How could you do that?" She spat at her father.

"What? I…"

"When it gets back at school what you did, what you are, I'll be humiliated. I had it under control. Are you happy? You've ruined my life." She shouted as she ran it the house.

"What the hell was that?" He mumbled

"Well you did overreact. You didn't have to go all vampy."

"Yes I did. He hurt my little girl."

"She is fine. She had it under control. She broke his arm for God's sake. Next time wait until she asks you for help."

"Next time?"

"It's all a part of growing up."

**_Catherine age 19 Chase age 16_**

"Daddy I'm nineteen years old. I want my own apartment." Catherine shouted at her father.

"Why are you in such a God damned hurry to move out?" He shouted back

"Why are you trying to keep me here?"

"Catherine we consider you an adult and give you the freedom to come and go as you want and you don't have to pay rent. Why would you want to give that up?" Cordy asked.

"I'm a big girl now. As much freedom as I have it's not my own place. I can't bring friends over."

"Of course you can." Angel said. "We have always welcomed your friends."

"A boyfriend daddy. I can't very well bring a boyfriend over for a night of romance with my parents and annoying brother around." Angel's mouth dropped open in shock. "Yes daddy I have had sex."

"She does have a point Angel." Angel's mouth was still wide open. He never wanted to think about his baby girl having sex. He knew it probably would have happened eventually, maybe when she was fifty but it was subject that he never wanted to broach. Ever.

"Fine. We'll go apartment hunting in the morning." He resigned.

"Thank you daddy." She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

Later that night Cordy and Angel had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for their youngest child to come home from a night out with friends when the phone rang, Cordy snorted and continued to sleep so Angel reached over and answered the phone.

"Lo?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Hey pop." Came Chase's loud, exceedingly happy voice.

"Chase what the hell is going on?"

"I think that I.." He burst into an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

"Chase."

"I think that I had a little too much to drink." A huge burp interrupted him. "And you and mom always said to call if I can't drive and I really don't think that I can drive home."

"Where are you?"

"I dunno. Hey where the hell am I?" Chase yelled. "Okay thanks dude. "I'm at Jeff's house. He is having an awesome party. It is so cool."

"We are on our way." Angel hung up the phone and gently shook his wife awake.

"Hmmph."

"Come on babe. Chase is drunk and we need to go pick him up. I need you to come with me to drive his truck home."

"Chase is drunk?"

"Oh yeah. Our son is wasted." They got in the car and headed over to Chase's friend's house.

"Now remember. We always told them, that they will never be in trouble for calling us if they are too drunk to drive."

"Doesn't mean tomorrow morning I can't make him wish like hell he didn't drink." He said with a smirk.

When they arrived at Jeff's house Angel went inside to collect his drunken son. He found chase on the couch kissing some girl on his lap holding a beer in one hand.

"Chase, let's go." Angel said loudly. The girl quickly jumped up and ran off.

"Hey pop. What are you doing here?" Chase slurred.

"You called to have me come and pick you up."

"I don't wanna leave. I'm having fun. Did you see that hottie on my lap? " Chase was wearing a self satisfied smile. Angel grabbed his son's arms and led him to the door.

"Give me your keys." Angel demanded and Chase struggled to remove them from his pockets. Finally Angel reached in and took them out of his pocket and tossed them to Cordy.

"Hey mama. What brings you to this neighborhood?"

"You do baby." She said with a grin.

Shaking his head, Angel loaded his intoxicated son into his car. The drive home consisted of incoherent babbling. laughing, vomiting and finally passing out. When they got home Angel carried Chase in and tossed him gently on his bed.

The next morning Angel was up early the next morning, really excited for the day's activities. He loudly pushed the door open to Chase's room.

"Rise and shine pretty boy." Angel yelled. Chase groaned and pulled the covers over his head. "Nice try. Time to get up." He pulled the blankets away from Chase's face.

"My head." Chase whined.

"A side effect from drinking. The last time I had a hangover was almost three hundred years ago but I remember the joys of a hangover. Come on get your ass up."

"Dad…I'm tired."

"Tough. You puked in my car last night and you need to get it cleaned up before it gets to hot and the smell ripens." Chase slowly sat up.

"You cannot be serious."

"Dead serious. Now move." Chase knew he wasn't going to get out of this. "You smell like cheap booze. Change your clothes and meet me downstairs. Make sure you wear some old clothes cause when the car is clean the lawn needs mowed."

"Daaaaaaaad."

"See you in a few."

An hour later Cordy had managed to pull herself out of bed and she joined Angel in the living room. Because it was still early the sun hadn't hit that part of the house so he was able to watch Chase from the window in the safety of the shade.

"You are cruel." She said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He kissed her forehead.

"This is priceless. He has puked three times already. He is miserable. When the car is clean he then has to mow the lawn. It'll work wonders for his headache." He chuckled when Chase heaved into the trashcan for the fourth time.

"You are cruel."

"Maybe but he will definitely drink twice before having another alcoholic beverage while he is still underage." He was quit proud of his inventive punishment.

**_Catherine age 24, Chase age 21_**

"You look amazing sweetheart." Cordy whispered tearfully.

"Thank you mama. I can't believe that I'm actually getting married."

"Neither can I." Angel said from the doorway. He was struggling with the fact that his daughter had found a man that had taken his place in her heart. She had met her soon to be husband, David, after they had rescued him from a group of vampires. He had come back to the hotel to thank them for their assistance and he and Catherine had struck up a conversation that led to dinner. He easily accepted the world of demons and vampires since he had first hand knowledge of them himself. He had always heard that girls tend to marry men like their father and Cordy told him that David reminded her of him. He was tall with short dark hair and dark eyes and he cared desperately for everyone around him. He was a definite protector. Angel hated to admit it but he was jealous of David. He was jealous that her eyes lit up whenever David walked into the room. They used to do that when he came into the room but all of the sparkle and love in her eyes was reserved for one man now.

"Is it time?" Catherine asked anxiously.

"Just about." They all smiled nervously. "Catherine it's not late to change your mind."

"Angel!" Cordy gasped.

"It's okay mom." Catherine walked over to her father and took his hand in hers. "Daddy, I am not going to change my mind. David is the perfect man for me and I love him so much. Do you know why?" Angel shook his head. "I love him because he is so much like you. He is kind, sweet and he loves me. You were the only man in my life for so long and you will always be a very important man in my life but you're no longer number one. That spot belongs to David now but that doesn't mean that I love you any less. You are my dad, my protector and my hero and you always will be."

"When did you get so wise?"

"I learned it from you." There was a knock on the door and Chase came in. He looked extremely handsome in his tux. In fact, he looked just like his father.

"Hey twerp." Catherine said in greeting.

"Hey dorkface."

"I'm feeling the love." Cordy said.

"It's time." Chase said.

"Okay." Catherine said. "Let's do this." Chase grabbed his mother hand. Before leaving the room he glanced at his sister.

"You look beautiful sis."

"You don't look so bad yourself."

Ten minutes later Angel was walking his daughter down the aisle to the man of her dreams. When they arrived at the altar he clung tightly to her hand.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" Angel couldn't bring him to respond and Catherine looked at him letting him know that it was okay to let her go. He knew that David would take wonderful care of his little girl.

"Her mother and I do." He said tearfully. He then placed his daughter's hand into the hand of her true love.

"I love you." She mouthed to him and he did the same then joined his wife in the front pew.

At the end of the night Angel and Cordy stood in the doorway watching their daughter head off to begin her life with her husband.

"Please tell me, that she will be happy." He begged as the car drove away.

"She will be. She choose a good man to love her and he really does love her. The way that they look at each other, I have seen it before." He raised his eyebrows in question. "They look at each other the way that we look at each other. Their love will last a lifetime."

"I love you Cordelia."

"I love you too Angel." They ended this wonderful night with a loving kiss.

**I wanted to show the joys of parenthood right? The next chapter is the final one. I'm so sad. Please review and let me know what you think of their parenting skills. **


	70. Chapter 70

I own none of the characters of Angel

Seconds passed, minutes were wasted, days went too fast, and years came and went. Life moved on for everyone at Angel Investigations. There were good times and there were bad times. When things were good they were very good and when things got bad they had their family and friends whom they considered family to help them get through it.

Over the years more and more vamps and demons still managed to find their way to Los Angeles and the staff of Angel Investigations continued killing them. The older they got the harder it got; a person can only be thrown against a wall so many times before it finally takes a toll on the human body so they eventually started hiring more people to help with the fighting. They had even snagged a couple of slayers from Giles's training camp.

Lorne had finally found his one true love one night at his club. A demon that looked human was up singing karaoke and Lorne was reading her and he saw himself in her future as her husband. His friends were there when it happened. His normally green skin visibly lightened his form of turning pale. He was thrilled beyond words but was like a tongue-tied highschooler. He couldn't talk. Once he was finally able to tell his friends what he saw they took it upon themselves to get this romance started and six months later they were all standing in the lobby of the Hyperion as Lorne and Anna exchanged vows.

During a routine vampire attack Justine was killed. It was the first time that they had lost one of their own besides when Angel died, but this time everyone knew that Justine wouldn't be coming back. Gunn understandably took his wife's death hard and he decided to leave Angel Investigations, much like Cordy did. Their daughter Ali, was ten at the time of her mother's death and Gunn knew that he had to protect his daughter from losing another parent and to do that he had to protect himself. Using the law information that was planted in his brain and the forged law degree that Wolfram & Hart provided for him he began to work for the public defender's office, so in his own way, he was still helping people. Although he was no longer employed at AI he still spent lots of time with his family.

Fred and Wesley added a daughter, Abigail to their family. As the years went on they both continued to love their job. All of their children were incredibly smart and no one was surprised considering how smart Wes and Fred were. Fred invented and patented a computer program that no one understood but very smart people but it made her a lot of money that she shared with her family and friends. Unlike the early days of Angel Investigations, no one wanted for money.

Ciara gave birth to a set of twin boys two years after Angel returned from the dead. She and Connor named their boys Liam and Allan. Liam was named after his grandfather, of course and Allan was named after the uncle he would never know. Ciara relished in motherhood. It was like Angel had said; she was put on this earth to be a mother. Angel was so proud of the father that his son had become. He was gentle with them, firm with them when he needed to be, and he spent all kinds of quality time with each of his children. Angela had her father and grandfather wrapped around her precious little finger. She could talk either one of them into anything and she knew it. Like his father had done with him Connor took his children to baseball games. Whenever it was a night game Angel and Chase joined them. It became a tradition that all of them had come to love.

Cordy and Angel tried to live life and raise their children as any normal family but of course that wasn't always possible considering that they weren't normal. Cordy continued to work on the soap opera and pass her visions on to Angel and Wesley. Occasionally when her help was needed she would go out and help fight but not very often because she didn't want to take the chance of dying and leaving her children. Angel continued working at his company but he was more of a family man now, and he tried to be home every night for dinner. The kids flourished in school and were in involved in sports. Catherine, like her mother was a cheerleader and Cordy attended all of her games and Angel showed up as soon as the sun went down. Because of his strength Chase would have been an excellent football player but he was afraid of unintentionally hurting someone so he focused of basketball because he inherited his father's height, Chase was one of the best players on the team and since all of the games were indoors so Angel could attend all of those. Their parents were very proud of them.

Over the years there were multiple attempts on Catherine and Chase's life but they trained with their father and brother and they were always able to defend themselves. During the few times that something actually thought that they could kidnap them they quickly killed whatever it was that had them before their parents got to them but that never stopped their parents from worrying about them.

Once the children graduated from high school they were finally allowed to come work for Angel Investigations but not a minute before. It was a given that Catherine and Chase would work for the family business. Two of Wes and Fred's children, Matthew and Abigail stayed but James went on to college and became a physicist, like his mother had planned many years ago. Unfortunately for Ciara, all four of her children stayed in the family business. She was always a worrier and she, like any mother didn't want her children putting their lives at risk but she accepted their decision and supported them. It did help ease her mind that all four of their children inherited part of their father's strength so they were able to defend themselves. Because Ali was so young when Gunn left his job she wasn't exposed to a life of demons and vampires on a daily basis so she followed in her father's footsteps and became a lawyer.

Over the years that they had all known each other, they always referred to each other as family. Well thanks to their children they all legally became family. Ciara, Connor, Wesley and Fred's children ended up marrying each other. Angela and Matthew fell madly in love, as did Patrick and Abigail. Chase and Ali were always the best of friends and that friendship blossomed into love and then marriage. The rest of the children found their happiness outside of their world but each of them ended up with someone who understood that there was a world of people who needed their help to protect them from demons and vampires.

Cordelia and Angel's marriage was happy one, but as the years went on she discovered the one major downfall of being married to an eternal creature of the night. He never aged. She has always known that he would never age but it never bothered her when she looked younger or the same age as her husband. It started to affect her when she began to look older than him, when she would introduce her younger looking husband and people would give her a look. She hated it. She took it really hard when she went through menopause. She cried for days and locked herself in their bedroom, making Angel sleep in the guest room for a week. After she finally let him back in their room, she wouldn't let him see her naked or let him make love to her for months because she was convinced that once he saw her old naked body he wouldn't love her anymore. It broke Angel's heart (figuratively of course) to see the most beautiful woman that he had ever laid eyes on struggle with aging while he didn't. After a lot of talking he finally convinced that she would always be beautiful to him.

_**45 years in the future**_

"Hey sweetheart, are you feeling any better?" Angel asked. Cordy had been sick for the past week, coughing, fever, sore throat.

She shook her head. "I feel worse."

"I'm making you a doctor's appointment." He waited for an argument but he got none and he knew right then that she must really be sick. He had been trying for the last two days to get her to the doctor's but she had adamantly refused. "Go back to bed and I'll wake you when it's time to go." She nodded weakly and shuffled back to bed.

An hour later Chase and Angel went in to wake Cordy. Since it was the middle of the day he needed his son's help to get his mom to the car. The sight they saw when they opened the door caused them to panic. Cordy was lying on the bed struggling to breathe and her color was blue. Both men quickly responded. Angel scooped his wife up in his arms, blankets and all and carried her to the car where Chase was waiting.

"Hospital." Angel ordered as he held on to Cordy. Chase nodded and drove like a maniac to the hospital. Thankfully the patient entrance was in the shade so Chase pulled up and Angel climbed out holding his wife tightly in his arms.

"I'll be right in dad." Angel nodded and he carried her into the hospital. A nurse rushed right over to them ordering a gurney.

"Sir what happened?"

"My…my…having trouble breathing….blue." He whispered.

"You need to lay her down." He held her tighter. "Sir we can't help her unless you let us." He reluctantly placed her on the gurney. She looked up at him with terrified eyes.

"I love you." He said as she was wheeled away. He attempted to follow but was ordered to wait in the waiting room. He sat heavily on a chair and placed his head in his arms. He refused to cry because he knew that she would be fine but he was scared to death. He only lifted his head when he felt Chase's hand on his back.

"Where's mom?"

"They took her back."

"She'll be okay."

"She was so scared." Angel whispered tearfully.

"She'll be okay." Chase repeated.

"Call Catherine. She needs to be here."

"I can't use my phone in here. Will you be okay if I go outside?" Angel nodded and Chase reluctantly left his father to go call his wife and sister.

As soon as he got outside before he could dial the number Catherine was calling him.

"Cath?"

"Where the hell are you guys? I came over to check on mom and the house is empty."

"The hospital. Mom was having trouble breathing."

"I'm on my way."

"Cath, I scared. She looked really bad." He admitted to his big sister what he refused to admit to his dad because his dad needed him to be strong.

"Be strong Chase, I'm on my way." After hanging up with Catherine he called Ali to let her know what was going on. She offered to bring the kids up and wait with them but he told her that he would call her when he had news.

"Any news?" Chase asked as he rejoined his dad in the waiting room and Angel simply shook his head. Chase reached over and took his father's hand and held it tightly.

"I can't lose her Chase. I just can't." Angel whispered. These last seven years have been hard on Angel. When he lost Connor and Ciara in a car accident it almost broke him and it probably would have if Cordy had not been there to bring him back from the darkness that was surrounding him. They were both in their late sixties but Angel thought they were both so young. When Connor died he felt like he lost his best friend and he now knew first hand what his victims families went through when killed one of it's members. Four years after he lost his son and daughter in law Wesley died of a heart attack and sadly he knew that there wasn't much more time for Fred and Gunn. They all were getting old and when you are human getting old and dying was just a part of the circle of life. He always refused to entertain the possibility of losing Cordy. He always knew deep down that she would die and leave him but in his mind if he didn't think about it, then it would never happen but right now he was being forced to think about it.

"Daddy?" Angel looked up at the sound of his daughter's voice. Without a word she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Where are Ali, David and the kids?" He asked

"They are going to wait until we have some news." Chase explained.

"Yeah, that makes sense." They waited another hour before a doctor came out.

"Family of Cordelia Angel?" The three of them stood up. "You are family?"

"Yes, I am her daughter, these are my siblings and I have her Power of Attorney." When Cordy started to look older then Angel they all agreed that he would referred to as her son in public and Catherine's name would on her Power of Attorney for legal purposes but Angel would ultimately make any decision regarding her health if she was unable to.

"Please follow me." They did as asked and they were led to a small private room. "I'm Dr. Haslett and I have been treating your mother.

"How is she?" Chase asked.

"I'm afraid that I have some bad news. She has a very severe case of pneumonia, one of the worst that I have ever seen. There is not one spot on either of her lungs that isn't covered with pneumonia."

"Well that's not so bad, Pneumonia is treatable." Catherine stated.

"I have started your mother on antibiotics but unfortunately she has progressed to respiratory failure so the medication won't do much good at this point."

"She wasn't this bad yesterday."

"We tried to get her to go to the doctor but she refused, saying that she wasn't that bad." Catherine and Chase said at the same time.

"This type of pneumonia progresses very quickly so she could have okay."

"So what do we do about this respiratory failure?" Chase asked.

"Unfortunately there is nothing I can do to reserve its progress. I have her on oxygen and pain medication to make her comfortable."

"No this cannot be happening." Catherine whispered.

"How much time?" Chase choked out with tears falling down his cheeks.

"A day, maybe two at most. I would suggest that you gather your family so you can say your goodbyes. She is in room 2114 in the ICU. She can have two visitors at a time." Catherine and Chase embraced each other sobbing and Angel sat stiffly staring at the wall. "I'm very sorry. I wish that I could have done more."

As soon as the doctor left them alone Angel jumped up and strode out of the hospital with Catherine and Chase on his heels.

"Dad." Chase shouted as he grabbed his arm but Angel roughly shook him off.

"Daddy, where are you going?" Catherine yelled.

"I'm going to stop this. I am not going to let your mother die."

"Daddy please don't do this to yourself, to us, to her. There is nothing that can be done." Catherine begged.

"Bull shit. There is always something to do." He stormed away from them.

"Stubborn son of a bitch." Catherine muttered through her tears as Angel stalked off. "He's just making it worse for himself.

"Cath…it can't hurt to try."

"She needs him."

"He'll be here. He always is." Chase said as he wrapped his arm around his sister and they walked solemnly back into the hospital.

--

Angel said the chant, lit a match and he was transported in to the Conduwnet cave.

"I need to talk to you NOW." He roared into the empty room.

"You seek to save her."

"You know why I am here?" It was a statement more than a question.

"Yes and you are wasting precious time that you could be spending with your wife. There is nothing that we can do for her."

"Bullshit. You can save her. You have to save her."

"What is done cannot be undone. Her time on earth has come to an end."

"She has worked for you guys for fifty years. She deserves to be saved."

"There is nothing we can do."

"Please" He begged.

"I'm sorry vampire. Now go and be with her. There is not much time left."

"NOOOOOOOO." He screamed as he was transported back to the room he started out in. "No." He repeated as he sank to the floor and sobbed.

When his sobs finally subsided he slowly pulled himself to his feet and began the walk back to the hospital. The Condiwent said there wasn't much time and he needed to spend every possible minute with her. During his walk back to the hospital he thought back to his life with Cordy. He loved her more than he ever thought possible and the thought of living the rest of his life never seeing her beautiful smile, never hearing her laugh, never running his fingers through her soft hair, never touching her, never kissing her, never making love to her again, made him want to die right along with her.

Once he returned to the hospital he made his way to the ICU. He saw his son and daughter in law sleeping in the waiting room surrounded by his sleeping grandchildren and great grandchildren. He found Cordy's room and he stood outside and watched his wife and children. They were all sleeping, Cordy in the bed in the middle of the room and Catherine and Chase were on either on side of her, clutching her hands, their heads resting on the bed.

"Sir, you can go in." A nurse said.

"But the doctor said that only two people can be with her at a time."

"The doctor made an exception so you could all be together."

"Thank you." Angel went into her room; shut the blinds to give them more privacy.

"Daddy?" Angel walked over to his daughter and kissed her head. Chase also began to stir.

"Hey dad." He mumbled.

"How is she?" He whispered as he walked next to his frail and pale wife who laying motionless on the bed, her gray hair fanning out around her, and an oxygen mask covering her beautiful face.

"Been sleeping pretty much since you left." Chase said

"Did you tell her where I went?"

"We didn't have to. She knows you too well."

"Yes she does." He whispered. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to her forehead. Her eyes fluttered, focused on him and smiled through her mask. "Hey sleepy head." She moved her mask away from her face.

"Catherine, Chase?"

"We are right here mom." Catherine whispered.

"Cor, put the mask back on." She shook her head.

"I need to….tell them." She allowed Angel to return her mask.

"Mommy, we know. Save your strength." Catherine begged but of course she didn't listen.

"My baby girl. I was never supposed to have you as long as I was with your father. You were my miracle. Catherine, you have made me so proud. You are a wonderful woman and mother." Cordy took a break and replaced her oxygen mask.

"I've had a wonderful example to follow."

"You are so much like your father. Baby girl, my heart swells with pride every time I look at you. You are my hero sweetheart. It has been a true honor to be your mom. Promise me that you will take care of our boys okay?" Catherine nodded. "They are going to need my strong girl, especially your dad. He will be lost without me." She winked at Angel who couldn't of agreed with her more.

"I love you mommy." Catherine sobbed.

"I love you too baby girl." Trying to hold herself together she leaned forward and kissed her mother and then went and buried her head in her father's chest. He held her tightly as her body shook with silent sobs.

"Chase honey?" Cordy rasped.

"I'm right here mama."

"My boy. You are so precious to me. Every time I look at you it's like looking in a mirror except you have your father's eyes. You are sweet, kind, and you put everyone else's needs before your own. You are an amazing father and husband, just like yours. As with your sister, it has been an honor to be your mother. I love you Chase."

"I love you mama." Chase kissed his mother and joined his sister in father's arms.

Cordy had fallen back asleep, her conversation with her children took a lot of her strength. Angel held Catherine and Chase tightly in his arms, trying to take away their pain but no matter how hard he squeezed they were all still in pain.

"Come on Chase, let's go get some coffee." Catherine sniffed. She knew that their parents need some time alone. He nodded and allowed himself to be led out of the room. "We'll be back soon."

Angel slowly walked over to Cordy's beside, pulled up a chair, picked up her frail hand and brought it to her lips and kissed all of her fingers.

"Are they gone?" Angel's head shot up in surprise.

"You need to keep this on." He gently replaced her mask but she stubbornly pulled it back off. "Cordelia, please."

"Kiss me once more for the road."

"Cor don't talk like that."

"Angel, I know I'm dying." He placed the mask back over her face.

"No sweetheart. You're going to be fine."

"You could never lie to me."

"You just have to fight. Fight to live Cordelia."

"I don't want to die baby, but I don't have any fight left in me. I'm so tired."

"I don't want to lose you. I can't."

"We had a wonderful life together but our time has come to an end."

"No…we have so much more left to do."

"Angel you saved me from myself. You changed my life when we ran into each other at that party. I was so self absorbed in myself and in making money, you changed all of that." She took a break for more oxygen. "You gave me a family that I never had. Without you I wouldn't of had Catherine and Chase, I never would have been half the mother that I was without you." Another oxygen break. "I love you so much. You have made me so happy and I wouldn't change one thing about our love and life together."

"I love you too Cordy, that's why you have to stay." She lifted a frail hand to his face.

"We will meet again one day." He vehemently shook his head.

"We won't hon. Once you leave me I'll never see you again. You'll be in heaven and I can't go there."

"I promise, we will meet again."

"Cor…"

"Kiss me Angel." He slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her gently and softly. He didn't kiss her for long because she needed the oxygen.

"I love you Cordelia Angel." She nodded and closed her eyes. Catherine and Chase returned a few minutes later and they all gathered around her bed.

"I love you all so much." She looked at each of her children, smiled her famous 100-watt smile and closed her eyes. She knew that they would be okay without her. Minutes later her heart stopped beating and she slipped quietly out of the world.

--

During the two years after Cordy's death Angel just went through the motions of life but he wasn't the man or vampire that he once was. Around his kids, who wouldn't leave him alone, grandkids, and great grandkids he put on a happy face but everyone knew it was a façade. Everyone knew he was miserable without Cordy in his life. Every night regardless of the weather he spent it in the cemetery, next to Cordy's headstone talking to her or sleeping. During the day when he couldn't be out in the sun he immersed himself in old photo albums or he drew sketches of her. If there was a demon or vamp killing that needed his assistance he did what had to be done then he retreated back into himself.

"Chase, we need to talk." Catherine said as she walked into her mother's old office, which has been Chase's office for the last ten years. When Cordy officially retired from acting Angel quit coming into work so he could spend more time with her, so Catherine took his office.

"Dad?" He questioned. They both had been extremely worried about him, especially over the past year when Fred and Gunn died within months of each other. He seemed to become more depressed.

"Yeah." She said softly. "I don't know how to say this but I want him to die."

"Cath…"

"He is miserable Chase. He spends his nights at a cemetery talking to her for Christ's sake."

"He feels like he is still with her at the cemetery. If he dies and goes to hell then any link of her will be gone."

"I had a vision. He won't go hell Chase." After Cordy died Catherine had inherited her visions.

"Are you saying…?" She nodded. "Let's go."

Twenty minutes later, they were walking into their childhood home. They found their father is his chair staring at the wall with sketches of their mother all over the floor. Sadly, this wasn't a surprise to them because this is how they always found him.

"Daddy." He lifted his eyes to meet Catherine's.

"Hey chipmunk." Tears filled Catherine's eyes.

"Daddy, you haven't called me that in a long time."

"When was the last time you ate?" Chase asked as he walked to the fridge.

"Yesterday."

"So why the hell is the same amount of blood in the fridge when I was here last week?" Chase tossed him a bag of blood. "You need to eat Dad." Angel drank the blood without question.

"We need to talk dad." Catherine began and he looked at her expectantly. "I got a vision."

"Don't you have people to take of that for you?"

"Dad, just listen." Chase snapped.

"Daddy, I had a vision of you and mom, together with Connor, Ciara, and everyone else."

"Sounds like it was a past vision."

"No it wasn't. It was a future vision. You were all together in heaven."

"Catherine, it's wrong. You interpreted it wrong."

"No I didn't. The Powers are never wrong. Do you know what this means?" Angel didn't respond.

"It means that when you die you will be together with mom again in heaven." Chase explained softly.

"No, I'm not going to heaven. I can't. I'm a monster."

"You do deserve heaven daddy and you will get that."

"Great, so if I ever managed to get staked, maybe in another two hundred years, I'll see her again."

"You don't have to wait that long dad."

"What the hell are you saying Chase?"

"You can walk out into the sun any time that you want to." Chase responded in a choked voice.

"I can't leave you guys."

"Daddy, we are both adults. You and mom taught us how to take care of ourselves and besides, you haven't really been here as much as you used to be since mom died."

"Dad we love you and we want you to be happy again and we know the only way that will happen again is if you are with mom."

"Do you guys really want me to leave?"

"Of course not but as Chase said we want you to be happy again."

"I'm so sorry I've been distant. I'm just so lost without her. I don't know how to function anymore."

"Then you need to find your back to her." Catherine whispered softly.

--

One week later Angel was sitting on the beach right before the sun rose with Catherine and Chase on either side of him each clutching one of his hands. He had spent the last week of his life on earth saying goodbye to his family. He was torn; he didn't want to leave as much as he wanted to leave. Catherine and Chase continued to support him,

"I'm going to miss you daddy." She whispered tearfully.

"I don't have to do this."

"Yes you do dad." Chase said.

"You two have given me so much joy. I'm a vampire and I was never supposed to have children and I ended up with three, two of which I was able to raise from birth until adulthood. I am so proud of both of you. I love you both so damn much."

"We love you too daddy." The three of them stood. Angel embraced Catherine first.

"Goodbye my beautiful daughter." He whispered as the tears rolled down his face.

"Hug everyone for me." Angel nodded and Chase was next.

"Goodbye son. Take care of your sister for me."

"I will dad. Kiss mom for me."

"I love you." They all said together.

Catherine and Chase linked hands as Angel walked into the ocean. As the sun rose Angel began to burn but this time he didn't feel the pain. Catherine and Chase stood back on the beach as they watched their father catch on fire. Within seconds he was gone. Catherine and Chase both burst into tears and sank to the sand. Their dad was really gone. They knew that it would be hard to be without him, but they knew that he was happy once again.

Angel was confused. He was standing in the lobby of The Hyperion. How could he not be dead? Who stepped in and saved him again?

"Hello salty goodness." Angel turned around and came face to face with his Cordy. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed passionately. When they broke apart Connor, Ciara, Wes, Fred, Gunn, Justine, Lorne, Anna, and Doyle surrounded him. His family.

"Welcome home." His one true love whispered. "I've really missed you."

Angel smiled and looked around. After three hundred and some odd years he had finally found his way home with those he loved.

"It's good to be home."


	71. Chapter 71

**Thank you all so much for reading my Fan Fiction Baby. **

**I love this story so much and I am sad to see it end. Your wonderful reviews gave me the incentive to continue on writing. **

**A VERY special thank you to all of you that reviewed. You really have no idea how much those reviews meant to me. Thanks for all your support.**

**I just want an opinion; please let me know what you think. If I were to write a sequel to this story, focusing mainly on Cordy and Angel raising Catherine and Chase would anyone be interesting in reading it? Please let me know.**

**Thanks again for everything.**


End file.
